Awake
by SummersSixEcho
Summary: [Complete] Danny Fenton woke up after a fight, only to discover he just imagined everything that happened during the past year.
1. Open your eyes

**Title:** Awake

**Summary: **Danny Fenton wakes up one day, only to discover that everything he's been through the past year was all just in his head.

**Notes: **No pairings. Mostly told through Danny's POV. If you notice anything wrong or that should be improved, please let me know.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Danny Phantom_. It belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. (Applies for the whole story).

* * *

**Chapter 1: Open your eyes**

_Some things in life are always constant. Things that will always be there no matter what. I can count on my name being Danny Fenton, my parents' blabbering on ghosts, my friends being there to support me, my sister trying to analyze everything from a psychological perspective, and a few other things._

_What probably scares me the most, is to have all those constants removed just because of the latest addition to my list: having to fight ghosts on a daily basis. Yeah, I'm not your ordinary fifteen year-old._

_About a year ago, I had an accident in my parents' lab which turned me into a half-ghost, half-human hybrid. I've been using my abilities to protect Amity Park, the town where I live, although most of them think of me as a menace._

_Ever since I started having this dual life, everything is upside down: my parents are hunting my ghost half because I haven't told them my secret, my friends have given away their own priorities to help me, my sister has to make alibis for my wounds and disappearances, and new enemies keep emerging just to make my life miserable._

_But what if I had a chance to change all that? What if I could just be a normal teenager? What if I could stop putting my loved ones at risk?_

_Stop kidding yourself, Danny. It's never going to happen. I mean... even as I'm thinking about this random stuff, I'm looking for a ghost that ran (or more likely, flew) away._

_I was able to trade only a couple of blows before he escaped, but I'm sure about a few things: 1) it's a male, 2) I haven't seen him before, 3) he's not the talkative type, and 4) he's stronger and faster than me._

_So, not only did I sense a new ghost who is tough to beat and got away easily, but to top all things, I'll be at home after my curfew and my parents will ground me yet again._

_There he is! He's in that building. Better get this over with now before he decides to wreak some real havoc._

_Wow... it's really dark and quiet in here. Oh, right. It's still under construction. Ok, now to find the baddie._

Danny went into the fourth floor of the unfinished complex following a shadow he recognized from earlier. The figure was wearing a black cloak and had intense red eyes. Very hard to miss.

"Hey, shady, I'm already late so why don't we end this right here and right now?" the boy taunted as he began to approach his enemy. "C'mon... That has to be the lamest banter I've got. I'm sure anything you say will be better than that." Danny paused, waiting for a reply that never came. "Still not talking? Guess I'll have to jump directly to the fight then".

And just as he was about to charge, something tackled him on the back. Danny crashed into a pile of bricks. As soon as he got up, he noticed a second ghost, similar to the other one he was originally seeking. The newcomer was so fast that he didn't even set Danny's ghost sense off, or at least the boy didn't notice. "Let me guess, you're not going to speak either," the ghost kid said dryly.

"Why would I want to speak if I don't have any business with you?" the second ghost said as he floated near Danny. His voice was strong and yet... soothing. The young hero found himself almost in a trance, but snapped out of it.

"If you don't have any business with me, then why did you tackle me?" _There's something strange about him. I just hope he's not as strong as the other one._

Instead of replying, the second ghost held his left hand up, his palm facing the boy, as if he were about to release some sort of beam.

_What is he doing? Why is he--_

Before he could finish his thoughts, Danny felt unable to move. The ghost was controlling him and now made him float out of the building.

_I can't move. If he lets me go, I'm gonna hit the ground. Wait, what if..._

Danny tried moving his head. Sure enough, the ghost wasn't controlling that. Determined, the white-haired teenager focused his energy in his throat. After what seemed like forever, he managed to release his Ghostly Wail on his enemy.

The figure was sent back with the strong blast. Even the first ghost was thrown by the energy. The building also received a fair amount of damage; more than fair to be precise, as it crumbled to the ground.

_Great. They're both gone, so that's two birds, one stone._

Danny was so weak after using his recently acquired power that he changed into his human form while he was still floating four stories above the ground. He quickly began to fall.

They say life passes right in front of your eyes when you're about to die. Danny's case was no different as the ground came closer and closer. In an instant, it all went black.

* * *

"Oh, my God... Jack! Call a nurse, a doctor... anyone! I think he's waking up!"

_Was that... mom? Ow... My head is killing me. I must've hit the ground pretty hard. I can barely move. And my eyes... I would keep trying to open them if it weren't for the light. Ugh... it hurts so bad! At least I can hear whatever's going on._

"Danny... my sweet boy. Please wake up. Please wake up."

_It IS my mom._

"He's on his way, Maddie."

_That's my dad's voice. I didn't die? I'm probably at the hospital. Yeah... I can hear several voices coming from outside the room. I can also hear a machine beeping like mad. That's gotta be my heartbeat. I didn't realize until now how fast it was beating._

_Ok, Danny. You better give it one more shot... open your eyes. I know it hurts, but open your eyes._

"Doctor! He started to move."

_C'mon, Dan. Open your eyes. The light is blinding and you can barely move, but try again. Open your eyes._

_Ugh... yeah... that's the light I was talking about. You can do it. Slowly. Move those eyelids. It's all blurry, but at least it's something. There are three dark figures surrounding you. Now try to sharpen that vision, Fenton._

At the same time as his vision became clearer, the one he supposed was the doctor now spoke, freezing Danny with the sight and the sound of such a familiar man standing next to him.

"Hello, Daniel. It's great to see you're awake," The doctor said as he greeted Danny with a warm smile.

Just then, a nurse came in to hand some sort of vial to the doctor. "Here's the medication you requested, Dr. Masters".

"Thank you. This should stabilize him as he regains full consciousness. I'll be back in a second". Dr. Masters and the nurse left the room, leaving a still shocked Danny behind.

_Dr. Masters? What the hell is Vlad doing here?_

Before he could question himself more, Maddie and Jack now came closer to the boy. Danny first noticed how they were wearing regular clothes instead of their hazmat suits. His mom was the first to speak, her eyes full of tears. "Danny! We're so glad to finally see you awake!"

"You really scared us, son," Jack added, trying to hold his own tears.

Danny was still dizzy but tried to speak. His throat was sore and he could hardly emit a sound, but he managed to whisper something. "What happened?"

Jack looked at his son with a sympathetic smile. "You were in a coma for a year".

_What? A year? How come I feel like it all happened yesterday?_

"But don't worry. We won't let anything like this happen to anyone again. We destroyed the Fenton Ghost Portal," Jack continued.

"Jack, he just woke up. He might not even remember the accident at the lab that sent him to the hospital a year ago".

_The lab? They can't be talking about the accident that turned me into a ghost..._

_... could they?_

* * *

**Notes:**

Sorry if it's confusing and I also apologize for the cliffhanger. But don't worry, it will be explained later. Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you liked this little introduction.


	2. All you ever wanted

**Notes: **

Thank you very much for all your comments. I really appreciate your support.

* * *

**Chapter 2: All you ever wanted**

_I try to let it all sink in. This has been such a weird day. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up any moment now from all this._

I mean... I've been fighting ghosts for a year now. You can't simply make all that up. It can't be something I just imagined while I was in a coma. It can't be...

I can't believe everything that had happened today -or was it yesterday? I think it's already past midnight and I'm still awake. It's funny if you think about it: after spending months asleep I now suffer from insomnia.

One of the reasons I find it so hard to get some rest now is because of everything my parents told me just a few hours ago...

'We stopped our research on ghosts when you had that accident'.

'We blamed ourselves for everything. After all, we're the ones who made the portal that sent you to a coma'.

'It had to be destroyed'.

'We came every day to see you... lying on that bed'.

'Your condition didn't seem likely to change'.

'Several doctors examined you, but they said you would never wake up'.

'We began to lose hope until Dr. Masters came with an experimental medicine. We decided to give it a shot'.

However, all the things they said before they headed home a few hours ago were blurred by something I never thought my parents would say:

'After all those years of research and nonsense, we came to the conclusion that ghosts don't really exist'.

I wanted to tell them everything that happened the past year, about me being half a ghost, about how they were trying to hunt me because I never told them the truth...

...but then I remembered that was just some weird dream I had.

Now that I think about it, I don't know how I didn't notice this before. Ghosts being real? Me, Danny Fenton, a hero? Yeah, right.

I now feel stupid for trying to turn my hand invisible during the past hour and for trying to change into Danny Phantom by whispering (yeah... I'm not going to shout something like that in a hospital) 'Going ghost!'.

I even feel bad for thinking that the doctor who helped me to come out of unconsciousness was some evil cheesehead in my made-up world.

It's still strange to think that it was all in my head. Although, being a normal teenager is all I ever wanted.

Yeah, Danny. All you ever wanted. Why are you complaining now that your life is finally the way it's supposed to be?

No more ghost fighting, no more danger, no more secrets... just a regular life.

And with those final thoughts, he went to sleep without dreaming a single thing.

* * *

The sun was trying to crawl into the room through the courtains when Danny woke up. He rubbed his eyes and took a look to his surroundings as if he expected everything to be different. As if he hoped to be in his bedroom and not some unfamiliar clinic.

_So, I'm not waking up from some weird dream in which I thought I was at the hospital after spending months in a coma. Ghosts really don't exist._

He sighed. Seconds later, the same nurse from the day before walked into the room. "Good morning, how are you feeling today?" she asked in a gentle tone. Her voice reminded him of the Lunch Lady Ghost for some weird reason.

_Yeah... It's going to be hard to let that life go._

"I'm...fine," he said with a weak smile.

"I just came to tell you I will be the one to check on you during this shift. If you need anything, my name's Bertha".

"I'm Danny".

"I know. I've been one of your nurses for three months now," she replied with a smile.

"Oh," the boy exclaimed softly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I still find it hard to believe I was in a coma for a year," he added with a shrug.

"And **I** still find it hard to believe you woke up".

Danny chuckled.

"Oh, Danny! You're awake!" a girl's voice came from the door. It was Jazz. She dashed to his side and embraced her little brother.

"I'll leave you two alone," Bertha said as she walked out of the room.

"I'm so happy to see you. You have no idea how much I missed you," Jazz exclaimed, still hugging him.

"Jazz... need... air," Danny said, faking a gasp.

The girl released her brother, looking at him alarmed. He chuckled when he saw her expression. "You'll never change," she said smiling.

"Seriously, I'm glad to see you too".

"So, tell me. How do you feel? Do you even remember what happened?" Jazz asked as she sat on the chair next to his bed.

"I feel weird. It's just that..." He paused.

_Should I tell her? She did know about my secret, and she knows so much about psychology that she might even help me understand what happened in my head. _

"...I don't know if I should tell you this, but..."

_What are you doing? She's going to send you to therapy or something. She's not the same Jazz you remember from your dreams._

"What is it, Danny?" the red-headed girl questioned with a frown, noticing her brother's hesitation with whatever he wanted to say.

"Nothing. I'll tell you some other time," he replied, brushing the topi off.

_Liar._

Jazz's frown remained on her face. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know," he answered, lowering his gaze.

"And you know I'll always love you no matter what".

"I know..." _She is the same Jazz I remember._ "I'm just not ready to talk so soon about it. I'm still kinda confused".

Jazz now had a sympathetic look on her face. "Hey, don't worry. You have all the time in the world." She smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

_Yeah... that's the same old Jazz._

She looked at her watch and then turned to Danny. "Wow, uhm... listen... I have to go back to school".

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You skipped class?"

"No! Of course not. I skipped lunch".

"Still, it's strange to know that you left Casper High while you have classes left".

"I wanted to see you. Mom and dad told me about your awakening when they got home, which was past visiting hours, so I couldn't come yesterday".

Danny smiled once again to his sister. "Thanks, sis."

"Oh! And before I forget... Tucker said he would see you once you're home."

"He's still afraid of hospitals?"

Jazz nodded.

"What about Sam?"

"She'll come by later today".

_Should I tell Tucker and Sam? They are my best friends. I don't keep secrets from them. Not even in my dreams._

"Tell her I can't wait to see the both of them".

"I will". She kissed his forehead and left the room.

_I have to tell someone... I can't just keep this to myself. If I do, I might go crazy._

* * *

"Hello, Daniel. How are you feeling?" Dr. Masters asked later that day as he entered the room to check on the boy.

Danny had spent most of the morning with nothing much to do. He tried watching TV but it became boring soon. Even talking to either nurses or interns had turned out to be dull after a while. So, watching his former archenemy walk into his room was the one thing that promised to be interesting up to this point.

_Vlad... I'm still not used to his presence. Not like this._

"Like I fell from a building and hit my head while trying to fight against two mysterious ghosts only to discover it was just a dream I had during a coma," Danny replied dryly after some hesitation.

Dr. Masters blinked. A brief silence filled the room.

"I'm just kidding. I feel fine," Danny added with a smirk.

"Quite an imagination you've got there, young man," the doctor said with a chuckle.

"I was just trying to come up with a different answer this time. I've been asked how I feel at least ten times today".

"Well, it's nice to see you're in condition to make jokes. That means you're better. If you keep recovering like this, we might send you home by the end of the week".

"Really?"

_Seriously, how could I ever think that he was a-_

-wait a minute... if everything that happened to me after the accident was just a dream, how could I know what he looked like?

"Of course. I know you're a fighter. I knew it since that day a few months ago when you opened your eyes".

"Opened my eyes?"

"It's not common, but you did. You probably don't remember about it. It lasted a couple of seconds and then you were gone again. You even saw me directly in the eye before you resumed your slumber".

_Oh... so that's how I know him. How come my parents didn't tell me about that yesterday?_

"Bertha and I didn't tell your parents because we didn't want to keep their hopes up. After all, we were just testing a medicine to see your reaction. In order to regain full consciousness, you needed a complete treatment and that required months for it to work".

_A little too convenient if you ask me. His answers, I mean._

But what the hell do you know, Danny? You're the one who imagined a bizarre world for a year.

"I guess I should thank you, then, for not giving up on me," Danny said with an akward smile. He was trying to be as nice as possible but it was hard.

_It's weird, that's all..._

...Yeah. Says the boy who thought he was half a ghost.

"You're most welcome. Well... I have to keep going. I just came to see how you were doing. I'll see you tomorrow, Daniel".

"Sure, but call me Danny".

Dr. Masters chuckled. "I'll try." As he was heading for the door, he bumped into someone who was coming in. Startled, he exclaimed (much to Danny's surprise) "oh, cheese logs. I'm sorry young lady". He then picked up a couple of books the girl had dropped.

"Oh, you don't have to. Thanks," the black-haired girl said as she finished gathering her scattered belongings. The doctor smiled and left.

Danny then realized who the newcomer was...

"Sam!"

"Danny! I'm so happy to see you!" she said as she hugged him. Then, she punched his arm lightly. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!"

"Ow", he complained as he rubbed his arm, though it didn't hurt. It was just a playful punch. "I'm glad to see you too. You have no idea how weird these two days have been".

"And you have no idea how horrible this whole year was to us".

"Sorry".

"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should do it," Sam said softly as she turned her gaze to the ground.

"Why?"

"For convincing you to go into the portal. None of this would've happened if it weren't for my not-so-bright ideas".

"Sam... it wasn't your fault. I'm the genius who decided to listen to you," he added with a smile.

"I'm serious. I'm sorry. You know I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose".

"I know, Sam. It's alright, really".

Sam took a seat next to Danny's bed. "So, what was it like?"

"What?"

"Waking up. Duh".

"Actually, there's something I think I should talk to you and Tucker about."

Sam's expression changed into one of concern. "What is it? Can you tell me now or do you want to wait for him?"

Danny stared at the floor and then sighed. "It's about what happened while I was asleep this whole year".

* * *

**Notes:**

I was going to continue, but I decided to end this chapter there. Sorry for the cliffhanger.


	3. Don't you miss it?

**Notes: **

Thank you for your kind reviews. Guess that means I owe you another chapter, right? 'Kay... here it goes. Hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Don't you miss it?**

_Sam is awfully quiet. Maybe I shouldn't have told her the whole story about the dream I had of my alter ego. This must be too weird for her._

Well, sure Danny... How would you react if you were told that you were just another player in a crazy made-up world?

The thing is, not all of it was completely fake... the feelings, the relationship I shared with my friends and family... hell, even the way others looked at me. It was all the same. I just changed a few details.

All my fears were there. All my dreams. All my doubts. That's why there was a ghost named Desiree willing to make the strangest things come true. That's why I had to come up with a dark side of me. That's why even Spectra was so effective in my mental scenario.

I sigh, trying to dismiss these thoughts. I look at the wide-eyed Sam as she probably tries to let it all sink in.

I expect any reaction: sympathy, anger, sadness... anything.

Well, except this...

"You thought that ghosts were real?" Sam asked in a disbelieving tone and Danny nods.

She remains serious for a second but then, her face changes in an instant as she bursts into laughter.

"That was the most bizarre dream I've ever heard about!"

_I'm confused at this point. Sam's not even trying to feel sorry for me or anything? I sure didn't see that reaction coming._

Oh... c'mon, Danny. You can laugh. Lighten up. She just confirmed that it was all just nonsense, that you can now live a regular life and worry about unimportant things like homework, dates, and such. Why can't you just enjoy the moment? She's just trying to bring your feet to the ground, to make you feel like you're the same old Danny who would crack at any silly joke she or Tucker came up with.

Don't you miss it? Laughing and fooling around with your friends? Feeling like you belong somewhere and that you're not just in between worlds? Being laid-back? A goofball? Don't you miss any of that?

Danny stared for another second at his friend, who was just laughing her head off.

_The sound of her laughter. Her carefree laughter. When was it the last time you heard it?_

A smile began to form on his lips. Then a chuckle escaped from his throat. A second later, he joined Sam in her hysterical fit.

Perhaps on different circumstances, he would've felt hurt at Sam's response, but he was in fact feeling stupid after telling her such a tall tale.

After trying to control herself, Sam now spoke. "Seriously, though... it must be weird to wake up after thinking all of it was real."

"Yeah... and imagine my surprise when I found out my arch-nemesis was my doctor!"

They again burst into laughter.

"Daniel Fenton!" Nurse Bertha came into the room with a scolding look. "You do remember you're inside a hospital, don't you?"

Both teens froze and nodded. Bertha eyed them once again and then turned to walk out of the room, oblivious to the silent snickers behind her back.

"Oh, Danny. I really missed you," Sam said as she held her friend's hand.

"Well... If I had known I was sleeping this whole time, I would probably say the same thing".

They shared a look and a few seconds later they began to laugh again.

_Yeah... I missed it..._

* * *

"Wow... this town hasn't changed a bit," Danny said amused as he watched the city from inside his parents' car. Amazingly enough, they didn't have the Assault Vehicle anymore. They had a normal SUV.

Jack looked at his son from the rear-view mirror. "The town itself hasn't changed much, but you sure won't recognize our house anymore".

That's where they were heading after Dr. Masters allowed Danny to leave the hospital. The teenager only spent a couple of days more at the medical center after he woke up. One of the main reasons was because he told the doctor he was having a rough time trying to sleep at night. Vlad told his parents that it would be better to let him feel at home. After all, Danny had spent a whole year hospitalized.

"What's so different about our home?" Danny asked intrigued. However, instead of getting a spoken reply, he got a visual answer: their house was the same, in essence, except for the missing 'FentonWorks' sign and basically all the equipment that used to cover the exterior of their home. And that was just from the outside.

Once the awestruck Danny and his family made it into the house, the first thing he did was to rush to the lab downstairs, ignoring completely the 'Welcome Home!' banner that hung in the living room along with a few decorations and some hidden guests who had been waiting to surprise the boy.

_I have to see it for myself..._

When he reached his destination downstairs, he found nothing but scattered boxes all over the place. No portal (at least not anymore), no inventions, no Specter Speeder... nothing.

The visitors waited for Danny to return. Maddie frowned when she saw her son leave, so she followed him. When she was finally downstairs, she saw him staring at the wall. Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder as soon as she reached him. "Oh, honey, I know it's hard to come face to face with the last place you saw before you slipped into a coma, but I can assure you that I won't let anything harm you again as long as I'm alive".

Danny just stood there, frozen at the sight of what used to be the lab.

_I never thought I would see this place like this. It's so... empty._

He sighed and faced his mother. "I'm still trying to unscramble a few things in my mind".

"Take your time, sweetie. Don't stress yourself," Maddie replied with a warm smile. "We have people waiting upstairs to see you, but you were in such a hurry that you didn't even notice. Do you want me to send them home so you can rest?"

Danny stared at the side of the wall where the Fenton Ghost Portal once was. He then shook his head. "No... I'll be fine."

Mother and son then headed back to the living room where Danny could now see who the guests were: Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Dash, Paulina, Kwan, Star, and a few other classmates.

_Huh? I obviously know why Sam and Tucker are here, but if things are different from what I dreamed, there's no way Valerie would still be my friend. Not to mention how unlikely it is for the others to be here. Specially Dash._

"Danny!" Tucker exclaimed as he embraced his friend. A tear crept down from his cheek as he continued hugging the blue-eyed boy.

_Ok... They're going to break my ribs one of these days..._

"Hey, Tuck... It's great to see you too," Danny replied warmly. His friend released him from his grip and Danny grinned sheepishly when he met the gaze of the others. "Hi... uh... sorry for rushing like that..."

"Don't worry, Fenton," Dash said. "We get it."

_Dash? Being nice to me? Ok... this is seriously something weird. With capital 'W'._

The jock then walked towards Danny and sighed. "Listen... I want to apologize for being a jerk with you. I... used to tease you a lot and did some mean stuff to you. But when we heard about your coma, I felt guilty about it".

Kwan then interrupted. "Hey, Dash. Remember when you thought that you were the one who sent Fenton to the hospital after you shoved him into his locker the day of the accident?"

_Yeah... I remember he did that a couple of hours before I decided to go into the portal..._

Dash shot a look at his friend. He then picked a muffin from the coffee table and smashed it on Kwan's head. "No, but I do remember how to do that". He then turned to face Danny again. "Anyway... sorry, Fen-toad," he finished, punching slightly the boy in the arm.

_Ok... that definitely sounded more like Dash... but why the sudden change of heart? Oh, right... it wasn't all of the sudden. He thought things over for a year._

Geez, Fenton. Not everything is just black and white... there are also a few shades of gray.

And speaking of Gray...

Valerie was the next one to talk to him. She looked at Danny with a shy look on her face. "Hey, uhm... I just wanted to say, thanks".

_Wait..._

Rewind...

Huh?

The girl sighed and spoke loud enough so that only Danny could hear. "My dad was fired a few months ago after an accident he caused. He got a few scratches from the incident so we went to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken. I really wanted to talk to someone about all of it. I was walking around the place while a nurse checked my dad and that's when I saw you. I had forgotten you were there. I decided to visit you one day and figured you wouldn't mind listening to any of my issues." She then whispered to his ear, "it's not like my so-called friends would ever understand, right?"

Danny nodded slowly. "So, you just started talking to me while I was asleep?"

Valerie blushed. "I didn't know who I could run to. I just wanted to pour my feelings out to someone I knew who wouldn't judge me".

Danny smiled at her. "I think I picked some of it in my dreams."

"Really?" she exclaimed raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And if you want to, you know... talk to someone who will listen _and_ talk back, you can count on me. Again," he added, smiling sheepishly.

She gave him a peck on the cheek and then took a seat next to Paulina and Star, who were just ignoring Valerie. Apparently, they had rejected her as they had done in Danny's delusion.

_So some of the events I remember from my dream were in part true. Huh... Maybe I was able to hear the things people told me while I was asleep._

"What was that all about?" Sam asked Danny as she and Tucker approached their friend.

"Apparently, she used to talk to me while I was in coma. Did you know about that?"

"No," Sam and Tucker replied at the same time.

"You think she might have been the one who messed with your brains?" Tucker asked, trying to stop a smile from showing.

"What?" Realization hit Danny. "Sam! Did you tell him?"

She grinned sheepishly. "I might have told him an adventure of yours... or two..."

_It's not like I wasn't going to tell him. But I wanted to be the one to do it._

Who cares? You didn't tell him but he knows anyway... So?

"So, Tuck... what do you think?" Danny asked with a sly smile.

"I think you read too many comic books. Speaking of which... I still might have a few of the ones you let me borrow before this whole thing," Tucker replied.

"Don't worry. You can keep them."

"Really? I thought you used to love them."

"Hey... I lived as a super hero for a year, right? Nothing can beat that," Danny explained with a smirk.

"Nice to see you're not obsessed with the whole thing being real," Tucker said raising an eyebrow.

_Well, kinda... I mean... for crying out loud, it was a whole year! How can you just let that slip? I'm still adjusting. I'm still confused._

Instead of that, he replied something else. "Nah... I'm fine. I get it. It was all fake. No need to dwell on that, right?"

_Right?_

* * *

_It's strange to be up in my room again... well... after all that happened. Mom didn't even let the dust pile up on my things. Everything it's in its right place._

Today's little surprise party was not that bad. I actually had a great time with everyone. Not just with my two best friends. But with the jocks, cheerleaders, geeks, and everyone else who decided to drop by. And none of that didn't seem to matter. The labels, I mean.

I was no longer Danny Fenton the loser, the whelp, the geek, the freak...

Nor I had to worry about being Danny Phantom... the halfa, the public enemy, the spook, the prey.

It was just me. A regular fifteen year-old hanging out with other kids my age. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged with all of them. We weren't divided by our social status or anything, except for Valerie and Paulina. But even they were able to have a good time without wanting to slit each other's throats.

That's just what bugs me. This is too good to be real. Sure, I'm not going to say that all the ghost hunting thing was normal, but at least it was to me after a while. THIS new life is what I have to get used to. I bet that even if I see a ghost right now, I won't freak out as much as I would have a year ago.

So here I am. Again in my room. Alone. Trying to sleep once more. Feeling my bed sheets as I cover myself. Listening to the faint wind blow outside. Watching the moon through my closed window.

Waiting for all of this to make me feel like I'm really alive.

I just feel so lost right now. I accept the truth and embrace it for a while, but then I remember what it was like to be different.

But think about it, Danny... this is all you ever wanted. You longed for this to happen. To somehow become a normal boy again. With dreams and desires. With goals and ambitions. Don't you miss being that? Just an average kid?

I did miss looking at my parents directly in the eye, having nothing to hide.

Or listening to my friends laugh as if nothing else in the world mattered.

Or feeling safe, like nothing would come out to scare or hurt me.

I did miss not having to worry about an arch nemesis or all those annoying ghosts I had to fight.

I missed being just Daniel Fenton.

But somehow, it's just not enough. It's not what I thought it would be. I feel so empty. Like I gave up something that truly belonged to me.

Sure, I've got what I want, but I can hardly stand it. It just doesn't feel right.

And you know what? This won't feel real unless you dismiss those dreams about being everyone's hero. You know that, Fenton.

Yeah. I know that. I know this won't stop unless I give up on my imaginary world.

Unless I give up on Danny Phantom.

* * *


	4. I'm not you

**Notes: **

Another new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys rock!

* * *

**Chapter 4: I'm Not You**

_It has already been one week since I came home. Things have pretty much been the same. Even my newfound fame among the popular kids (which is only possible because they somehow felt sorry for me) has remained intact. They even drop by every now and then to see how I'm doing._

Yeah… I'm still confined to my home. It's not so bad, though. Now that my parents are not obsessed with ghosts, they have been working on other kinds of technology development, so things are not as tense as I remembered around here.

Besides, it's not like I'm inactive all day. I spend most of my hours studying for when I can finally go back to school. Yes: I, Daniel Fenton, am actually hitting the books in a non-literal way.

According to Mr. Lancer, I will be able to catch up with my classmates with some sort of make-up test. Huh… and here I was thinking that things couldn't be any easier.

But that's not all I do lately. Like I said, people come over to see me; Tucker, Sam, and Valerie among them. With the first two, I usually spend my time playing 'Doomed' to try to beat Sam. With Valerie, well… we just talk. Aside from the things she told me, we don't know each other that well, but we're starting to become good friends.

So that's what my life has been like for the last week. No ghosts. No secrets. No danger. Nothing. Just a regular life as a normal teenager.

I'm Danny Phantom no more. Not even in my head.

I can actually hear the birds sing right now. It's like the grass has become much greener and the sky is suddenly clear and bright.

Heck, I can even hear a song playing on the background while I walk down the street. Things are just turning out to be so perfect right now…

* * *

"Mr. Fenton, I hope you realize that you'll have to work harder than the rest of the class in order to keep this privilege. I know that being in a coma for a year is not something you could've foreseen, but you have to face the consequences of skipping a whole school year as it will eventually affect your future".

Danny nodded to Mr. Lancer. They were inside his office, making the necessary arrangements for his return to the halls of Casper High. "I get it. Don't worry. Jazz offered to tutor me and some of my classmates already gave me their notes to catch up with them," he said confidently.

_I'm not going to mess up this time._

"Very well. You already have your schedule and your books". The bald teacher checked his watch. "We still have ten more minutes until the lunch break is over. I'll see you in class". He stood up and opened the door, motioning Danny to go outside.

"Thanks, Mr. Lancer". He was about to walk in a different direction, but decided to face the teacher once more. "Listen, uh… I know I didn't leave a good impression during my first week here a year ago, but I really want to change that".

The man smiled warmly and put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Don't try to impress me. Impress yourself". He then walked away to the teacher's lounge, leaving a dumbfounded student behind.

_Mr. Lancer was being supportive? Maybe things will be better after all._

Danny then walked towards the cafeteria. As soon as he stepped into the room, several students greeted the boy. He spotted his three friends and was about to join them, but four people stopped him: Dash, Kwan, Star, and Paulina.

"Hey, Fenton. Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Dash asked as he approached his former punch-bag.

"No way… why should he waste all that social potential in his room?" Paulina exclaimed next.

"Social potential?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah… you're the one everyone talks about lately," Star now spoke.

"I am?" Danny kept his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. You're everyone's hero. You didn't have to come to school for a year," Kwan exclaimed.

"I was hospitalized," Danny pointed out in a dry tone.

"Don't listen to him. Why don't you come to sit with us?" Paulina asked, slightly flirting.

"Uh… thanks, but I… should go with my friends. I haven't seen them all day," he stated nervously, trying not to enrage the popular kids for turning them down.

Instead of a cold reply or an angry outburst towards the Fenton kid, the four teenagers smiled, and not in a mischievous way. "Ok, but don't forget about us tomorrow, Danny," Paulina said sweetly. "See you in class," she added and waved as she and the others returned to their table.

_I guess I should get used to it. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't get too used to it. Once my fame fades, I'll become a loser again._

Danny shrugged his thoughts away as he reached his friends: Tucker, Sam, and Valerie (who now hanged out with them as well).

"Hey, Danny," Sam said. The other two greeted him as well.

"Hey, guys". Danny took a seat with them for the remainder of their lunch break.

"So, you really are going to be with us in class?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah. I already put my documentation in order and had some sort of agreement with Mr. Lancer," the raven-haired boy replied.

"Great! You're starting today?" Tucker questioned.

Danny nodded. Just then, the bell rang. He sighed and smiled. "Ah… I missed that sound".

"Are you sure you didn't have any brain damage or something?" Sam asked teasingly.

"Hey! I haven't been around for a while. I even missed Lancer!" Danny replied and the others laughed.

They kept talking on their way out of the cafeteria and on their way to their lockers. As they walked towards the classroom, Danny noticed his shoe was untied.

"Go ahead. Meet you there in a second," he said as he bent to tie his shoelace.

When he finished (which didn't take him more than five seconds), the halls were already empty.

_Wow. Either I was too slow or they were too quick._

He turned his head to see if the hall was equally deserted behind him and confirmed his suspicion. He started walking, still looking behind over his shoulder, until he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he began as he turned his head to apologize to the person he hit, only to be shocked by the sight of such a familiar face: Danny Phantom.

"We don't have much time," the white-haired ghost spoke as he checked their surroundings. The echo that came from his voice paralyzed Fenton even more.

_He's not real. He's not real. He's not real. He's not real. He's not real._

"Listen, you're in danger. I can't be here for long but I had to warn you. We have to fight. YOU have to fight," Phantom continued, still floating in front of the wide-eyed teenager.

_It's just my imagination. I'm seeing things. Another wacky dream. This is not really happening. That's not me. That's not him._

Phantom seemed to know what was on Fenton's mind. He tried to grab the boy's shoulders but he phased through them, so instead he snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Snap out of it! You can't just tell me that after all those things we went through together you're just going to let it all go to waste and pretend it was just a dream!"

Fenton actually snapped out of it… and he glared at the ghost. "No, YOU listen to me, figment of my imagination. I'M NOT YOU! YOU'RE NOT REAL! I'm tired of believing in some crazy fantasy. Sure I had my share of fun, but that was all fake. I'm tired of avoiding my family, my friends, my responsibilities, my goals, and everything else just because YOU came along. So, do me a favor, and to yourself for that matter: GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE!" Fenton finished, starting to walk away from the ghost.

Phantom's face seemed disappointed and hurt. He just floated there for a few seconds with a grim expression on his face. "So that's it? You give up on me just like that? You decide to live this life just because it's easier than the one you had? Fine. Do whatever you want. But just for your information, I would never think about giving up on you". Fenton listened to his speech, still walking without turning around. When he was at the end of the hall, he stopped and turned his head to Phantom's direction, but the ghost was already gone. Danny sighed and continued walking towards his classroom. Once he made it to the room, he noticed that his classmates were just taking their seats, so he was actually on time.

He took his seat next to Sam. Tucker and Valerie were sitting in front of them. Sam frowned when she saw her friend's face. "Danny, are you all right? You look like a kid who just found out that Santa Claus wasn't real".

"I'm fine," he answered shortly in a dry tone, not looking at the Goth girl.

"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?" she questioned with a faint smile.

_Yeah, right. So she can laugh at me again?_

"I promise not to laugh this time," she reassured him, putting a hand on top of his.

"I'm fine," he replied again, more severe this time, which made Sam frown and remove her hand. She stared to the blackboard as Mr. Lancer began that day's lesson.

_What the hell are you doing, Danny? It's not her fault you're upset about something._

Danny shrugged those thoughts away and tried to listen to what the teacher was saying. It was difficult to pay attention, though. Not only because Lancer's class was boring but also because Danny spent more of his time looking around the room and through the window for any signs of Phantom.

_I guess I did imagine him after all. Otherwise, he would still have been there when I turned around. I should probably tell Dr. Masters about this. Maybe that hallucination was a side effect to my awakening._

Yeah. That's just probably it. Besides, if he had been a real ghost, I would've felt the temperature drop at least.

He decided to let the subject go and focus on his class, but he suddenly realized something.

_Wait… if he wasn't real, how come I felt him when I bumped into him?_

* * *


	5. Slipping Away

**Notes: **

Thank you very much for all your comments! Here's a new chapter so you can start trying to guess what's up with Phantom.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Slipping Away**

"Danny, what's going on?"

"What?" Danny replied startled as he snapped out of his thoughts while looking for a book in his locker. He quickly turned around to see none other than Tucker, who was standing by his side.

"I asked what's going on," his friend replied. He seemed concerned.

"What do you mean?" the black-haired boy asked nervously. He didn't really want to talk about what had happened earlier that day.

"You know what I mean. You've been acting weird. You didn't even react when you hit your knee on your way out of the classroom. Not to mention how harsh you acted with Sam. She only wanted to know if something's wrong".

Danny sighed. His thoughts were a mess. He couldn't cope with all the theories, doubts, and ideas that collided with each other in his brain. "I was just… thinking."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "No kidding," he said sarcastically.

"Listen, I have to go. Jazz is probably waiting for me at the parking lot. We'll talk about this later, ok?" Danny said, trying to avoid a conversation in which he revealed everything about his encounter with Phantom.

"Alright, Danny. I'll see ya tomorrow. But try to keep in mind that we're friends. We're supposed to tell each other everything," Tucker said somberly and then walked away.

Danny stared at his friend for a second, and then turned to walk in the opposite direction, which didn't exactly lead to the parking lot.

* * *

Amity Park's park was practically deserted even though it was a beautiful afternoon. A rock rolled along the path to a small bridge. A foot kept kicking the stone every time it reached it. But the foot remained motionless as a very grim boy stopped for a second, not moving his hands from his pockets or his gaze from the ground.  
"He can't be real, right?" he whispered to himself.

Almost as soon as Danny finished saying this, he shook his head and kept kicking the small rock.

He didn't go to his home with Jazz after school like he was supposed to. His parents were probably worried by now, but the blue-eyed teenager didn't really care. It's not like anything in the 'real world' mattered right now. His concept of 'reality' had been completely altered several times during the past weeks. The last change, however, was the worse. He found someone who shouldn't even exist. He found the ghost he once was.

"If he wasn't an illusion, what did he mean? Warn me about what?" He groaned as the mystery kept haunting his mind.

In his frustration, he kicked the rock harder this time and sent it flying towards a bush. "Ow!" a female voice exclaimed from behind the shrub. A girl came out of her hideout and Danny realized who she was: Sam.

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked unsure.

"I'm just… you know… trying to see if I could talk to you alone…" she replied, glancing at her feet.

"I thought you were mad at me." Danny said softly, not wanting to meet her eyes either.

"Well, I was. But then I realized that you had been through a lot lately and that you probably didn't mean to snap like that at me." She paused for a second, daring at last to look at him. "I'm not mad, but I am worried. What happened?"

Danny sighed heavily and, after a brief silence, he decided to tell his friend about what happened. "I saw something today. Actually, someone," he began to explain, still uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Who?" Sam asked intrigued. Danny only eyed her curiously. "C'mon. I said I wouldn't laugh!" the Goth girl exclaimed.

"I saw a ghost," he blurted out.

"A ghost? Anyone you remember from your dreams?" she questioned.

Danny nodded slowly. And remained silent for a second before replying. "It was Danny Phantom," he finally said.

Sam froze. Her eyes were bigger than Danny's when he met his alter ego. "You said… Danny… Phantom?" she asked astonished. Her friend nodded once again. This time, he was intrigued by her reaction. "How is that possible?" she asked.

"I don't know. But I think he was real. I bumped into him. I felt him," Danny said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Sam froze once again. "Did he talk to you?" she pressed, grabbing the boy from the shoulders and shaking him for answers.

Danny eyed her curiously. Her nails were almost digging into his skin. "Ok, Sam. You're really freaking me out. Are you ok?"

The girl softened her grip and relaxed a little. "Oh, sure. Sorry. I was just impressed, that's all," she replied while laughing nervously.

"Are you sure? You almost reacted worse than I did…" Danny said.

"Why? How did you react?"

"I kinda told him to back off."

"So, you spoke with him?" Sam asked once again.

"Yeah, well… if you call that a conversation, sure."

"Did he stay for long?"

The boy shook his head. "No, he said he couldn't or something like that. I was too busy trying to vanish him from my thoughts to even remember what he said exactly". Danny was unsure, but he could've sworn he saw Sam smirk. He shrugged it off his mind. "Anyway, what do you think?"

"Seriously? That you hallucinated." Sam replied and Danny was taken aback. "It's common to think you could feel or even smell your own delusions. That's why most people think they're real," she continued as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, it's probably a side effect. After all, you were a whole year in a coma".

Danny was confused. He certainly didn't expect that response. Actually, Sam was somehow different from what he remembered.

_You're being paranoid. She's the same old Sam. Besides, she's right: you probably imagined everything._

"Come on, Danny. Let's get you home. It has been a long day," Sam said, grabbing his arm.

Danny sighed and allowed his friend to lead the way to FentonWorks.

* * *

Nothing but darkness could be seen. Nothing but numbness could be felt. Still, he knew the reason behind his insane situation: he was trapped.

It was not an ordinary prison, like the ones designed by his previous enemies. This one consisted in a very twisted mind game. He knew it from the beginning, though he couldn't do a thing until today.

Somehow his warden was weak and distracted. Maybe he had been using too much energy at the same time. Upon realizing this, the prisoner took the opportunity to escape so he could warn his human half about everything that was going on.

He risked being noticed by his guardian, but it was worth it if it meant he could save the both of them: Fenton and Phantom.

So, the Phantom sneaked in the empty hall of the school he used to attend, noticing that the boy he was looking for was standing right in front of him. He was even impressed when he felt the human teenager bump into him. A clear sign that his warden was indeed absent at that moment.

However, he had to make sure first. He scanned his surroundings when the boy saw him. Phantom tried to warn him, but the other didn't listen. He didn't _want_ to listen. The ghost knew he was already late. Someone had messed with Fenton's mind.

Even when he tried to convince the dark-haired teenager that he was real, nothing seemed to work. He couldn't even touch him anymore. The warden was probably on his way as Fenton stubbornly walked away from his ghost half. Phantom promised not to give up on his human counterpart even though Fenton was clearly trying to give up on him.

The ghost returned to his prison trying to think of other ways to alert the human. That's when he noticed that the place he was in was no longer dark and he didn't feel as numb. He could almost see a silver lining and he could almost feel he was recovering his free will.

That's until his warden arrived.

_"You thought you could sneak out? That you could somehow stop me from toying with the boy's mind? He's mine now. Mark my words, Danny Phantom. You're going to be destroyed"._

The voice echoed in his head. Phantom realized he was once again surrounded by shadows and unable to feel. It was up to Fenton, now.

* * *

**Notes:**

Confused by the last bit? Don't worry… it will be explained. I promise. And why were Danny's thoughts missing for a big portion of this chapter? Stay tuned. (Sorry if this one was short)


	6. Silver Lining

**Notes:**

Thank you (yet again) for reading and reviewing this story. Here's what you probably came for: a new chapter. I hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Silver Lining**

"Danny! Where have you been? We were so worried!" Maddie exclaimed as soon as her son walked into the house accompanied by Sam.

"You were supposed to come home with Jazz. What happened?" Jack now asked.

The raven-haired boy sighed. "I wanted to be alone for a couple of minutes. Rough day, you know…"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maddie questioned as he motioned him to the couch.

"Not really. I just want to go to my room. I hope you don't mind," Danny replied, addressing to his friend as well.

Before Sam could respond, the front door opened abruptly and someone walked inside. "I've looked everywhere and asked everyone but I couldn't find…" Jazz trailed off as she noticed her brother sitting on the couch. "…him," she finished in a softer tone. "Oh! Thank God you're home. We were so worried!" Jazz exclaimed as she hugged her sibling.

"I know. I'm sorry," he replied softly. "Anyway, as I was saying, I should go to my room". He stood up and then turned to his Goth friend. "Rain check?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you at school," Sam replied with a weak smile.

Danny walked upstairs towards his room while Sam walked outside towards her house.

* * *

_Something here isn't right._

Danny was deep in thought once he was in his room. He tried to do his homework but he was still distracted.

_Why would I be hallucinating someone so crucial at such a random time? It doesn't make sense. Why didn't I imagine him before? It would've been more logical, right? But who am I to say something's logical? Things haven't made sense lately._

Something is definitely wrong. Even Sam acts so… different. My shoulders still hurt from her grip. What was THAT all about? First she seems interested and intrigued; then, all of the sudden, she discards the idea of Phantom being real.

Maybe I shouldn't have told her. Maybe she didn't want to keep my hopes up. Maybe I need someone else's opinion.

_'Maybe you should go to see Dr. Masters,'_ a voice echoed in his thoughts.

_Dr. Masters? Yeah, right. He's the weirdest part of this living nightmare. Actually, now that I think about it, his behavior was also strange. Like the way he tried to explain how I opened my eyes while I was in coma and saw him before I slipped back into my sleep. That's just weird._

And I know I'm not good at math but, according to my dreams, I've known Plasmius for about half a year. However, Bertha said that she had been my nurse for only three months. If she was with Dr. Masters the day I opened my eyes, that means she has been my nurse for at least six months, not three. Why would she lie? Unless Dr. Masters is the one lying.

This is getting more confusing…

If only I had someone to talk to about it.

'You could talk to Tucker, Sam, Jazz, or even Valerie…'

No. They won't understand. They are not the same people I remember. Tucker almost killed me just by looking at me today. Sam is acting weird and it's usually Tuck or me who act weird. Jazz won't be as open-minded. And Valerie? Well, I'm just getting to know her.

I really wish I had someone to talk to about all of this.

The room became colder as Danny snapped out of his thoughts. He recognized the familiar sensation: it felt the same way it did in his dreams when a ghost was nearby.

"Why the long face?" a voice echoed in the room.

"Who's there?" Danny asked startled.

The voice materialized in front of him as Danny Phantom became visible. Fenton again gasped in shock.

"But you… and I… how did…" Fenton stammered.

"Easy, Fenton. Everything's fine," the ghost assured him.

The boy finally found his voice and spoke to the specter. "Last time you said you didn't have enough time. Why are you so calm now?"

"Well, last time I was in a hurry and you had to go to class. I didn't mean to scare you, but I wanted to see you," Phantom replied.

"Why did you want to see me?" Fenton asked intrigued.

_If he's supposed to be me, he should be in me and not a completely different being, right?_

"To thank you," Phantom said simply.

"Thank me? For what?" Fenton was still incredulous.

"For creating me."

"WHAT?"

Phantom sat on his bed, still staring with his glowing green eyes at the boy. "You heard me. You created me. I was born the day of the accident. I've been feeding you with dreams about ghosts and other nonsense to keep you alive."

"Nonsense? But you're a ghost too!" Fenton exclaimed confused.

Phantom just smirked. "Not exactly."

"What are you, then?" Fenton challenged.

The 'ghost' just kept his smug smile on his face. "A dream."

_Ok. That doesn't make any sense…_

"I know it doesn't make any sense. I'm just a projection of your hopes, your fears… a dream," the white-haired boy explained.

_So why is my own dream talking to me? I can't be talking to myself!_

"Yes. You're talking to yourself, Fenton. But as soon as you let me go, I'll be gone and never annoy you again," Phantom said with his arms crossed.

Fenton was confused before the ghost appeared. So, confusion doesn't even begin to describe what he felt now.

_Again with the whole 'giving up' thing. So, that's it? I just have to erase him from my thoughts and desires? That's what it takes to live a normal life without feeling so lost about what's going on?_

"Think about it, Fenton," the ghost said before he disappeared from the human boy's sight. Danny was left dumbfounded.

_What the hell is going on? Why the sudden change? Earlier today he was hurt after he found out I wanted to give up on him and now, he's encouraging me to do it? GAAAH! I don't get it!_

With those last thoughts, Danny stormed out of his room and headed downstairs to the front door.

Maddie noticed him. "Honey, where are you going?"

"Out," Danny exclaimed with a dry tone as he shut the door closed behind him.

* * *

His cell was everything but ordinary. Even though he was covered by darkness, it was hard to make an image of the place he was trapped in.

A deadening feeling filled his bones, which was ironic considering the nature of Phantom's power: he was a ghost.

As the feeling intensified, he heard the all-too familiar voice of his warden. _"I might not be able to convince the kid that your visit was nothing but a dream, but I can still take advantage of the situation."_

"What are you going to do now? Pose as one of my classmates or as one of my enemies? What?" Phantom demanded.

_"No, my boy. It's much better than that. This time it's YOU who will do the job,"_ the sinister voice replied.

"Yeah, right. Like I would do anything to hurt myself like that," the young ghost exclaimed with a snort.

_"Perhaps not you, but I doubt your human half can see the difference between you and an illusion. After all, he thinks he's losing his mind,"_ the warden said.

Phantom's eyes widened in shock when he heard those dreadful words. "He's smarter than you think. Even if I can't beat you, I'm sure he'll find a way to outsmart you."

_"And yet, he still believes what I tell him. You're finished, Danny. He's going to give up on you, so why don't you give up on him as well?"_ The voice taunted.

"Do I seriously have to answer that?"

_"Think about it, Phantom."_ The warden left as soon as he said those final words.

_I still have faith in him. I have never given up so easily, so why would he? We're a team. He won't discard me just like that. Heh, we're Team Phantom. Who says there's no 'I' in team?_

Danny Phantom was about to give his thoughts a rest until he could come up with a decent plan, but he suddenly noticed the silver lining again, streaking among the shadows.

_What is that?_

He came to realization once he remembered what had happened the last time he saw the same thing.

_Is that… doubt? If it is, we still have a chance. I should better take advantage of this kind of opportunities._

* * *

**Notes:**

Again, short. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Itmight get confusing, but I'm not done with the story. Things WILL be explained. Perhaps not on the next chapter, but soon.


	7. Sticks and Stones

**Notes: **

Must… defeat… writer's… block…

Oooooh… and must… thank… readers…

* * *

"_Sticks and Stones can break my bones, but words seem to cause a whole lot of trouble."_

**Chapter 7: Sticks and Stones**

"…So that's why I decided to come here, to see you. I really didn't know where to go or who to talk to. My friends have been acting so strange lately…"

He paused as if waiting for a sign of support but it never came. "There are just so many things going on. It feels like there's a huge puzzle and somehow I know I have all the pieces but I can't put them together. Everything is messed up."

He sighed and frowned, resting his head in his hands. "How can he be a dream? How? I'd rather hear that he didn't even exist than watching him show up out of nowhere telling me all that nonsense about him being a dream. I mean, if he's a dream, he shouldn't even appear in front of me when I'm awake! Right?" he exclaimed in exasperation, raising his hands.

Danny sighed once again and returned to his original position, sitting Indian-style on the grass with his hands holding his head. It didn't matter that it was cold and the night breeze caused the grass to be wet. It didn't matter that it was dark and that the moon provided the only light he needed to see the one he came to visit.

"I don't know why this is happening to me. All I ever wanted was a normal life, or as normal as it could get. You should know better than anyone how things can be in my house, so you get my point. Though, the funny thing is that my home is the most normal place nowadays. Everything else is weird now: school, my friends, the popular kids, the hospital. Heck, even the Nasty Burger feels strange. I've even been told that the whole thing with the Nasty Sauce is just a myth. I even tried heating up in the microwave a small amount of the condiment and nothing happened. I really did dream all about THAT. I guess my life's more screwed up than I ever thought it was".

Shifting his position, he leaned against the tree behind him looking at the nocturnal sky with his arms crossed. Not a single cloud could be seen and the glow coming from the stars was almost as bright as the moon's.

"Did I ever tell you why I wanted to be an astronaut?" No reply came from the silent listener. It didn't bother Danny, though, and he went with his story. "I liked pretending that I lived somewhere else, in a different galaxy with no ghost-obsessed parents and no kids bullying me the whole time. I thought that life in other planets would be better for me. And that if I ever traveled in a spaceship, once I glanced back towards the Earth, I'd find that it's not so big after all. That it's just a tiny dot in the universe and therefore my problems wouldn't matter anymore. They would be as small as the blue marble slowly dancing in the dark space".

A smile appeared on his face after he realized what he just had said. "Man, that was corny. I bet you would've preferred to hear that I wanted to be an astronaut just to watch a bunch of stars or something. Or that I realized I belonged in outer space after seeing how much I spaced out". He couldn't help but chuckle at that. The other remained silent.

"So, tough crowd, huh? Maybe telling you about how my life sucks will cheer you up. No, wait.. I think I already told you everything there is to it," he said, rubbing his chin as if in thought. "Sure you don't want to help me solve this brainteaser?" Everything was silent, except for the sound of a cricket nearby. "Guess not," the boy muttered after the brief pause.

_'BeepBeep, BeepBeep, BeepBeep'_

Danny glanced at his watch as it beeped. He had to be at home in less than an hour. "Wow. Time sure flies when you're talking to a grave".

He got up and stood in front of a small tombstone with a bone carved on it. "I should go home now. It's late. And I don't want to worry my parents for the second time today," he said with a weak smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"Anyway, thanks for listening to me. I know I say the same thing every time I come here but… I really am sorry that my dad's special goo killed you. To my defense, I did warn you about not eating everything you saw on the floor".

Danny paused for a second and glanced at the tombstone for the last time. "Thanks, Bones. You were the best dog a five year-old could have," he said quietly. He turned around and strolled away from the grave and out of the pet cemetery, where the only dog his parents allowed him to have was now peacefully resting.

_Life sure is full of irony. I finally convince my parents of letting me have a puppy and he dies within a week due to one of my dad's clumsy experiments. (Snorts) And he told ME I wouldn't be responsible enough to take care of a dog._

With those last thoughts, the raven-haired boy put his hands in his pockets and walked towards his home, remembering all the fun he had as a kid that week with the first and last dog he ever had.

* * *

_I have to wait until Fenton goes to 'sleep'. Maybe he'll be more relaxed then and he'll hear what I have to say._

If he's asleep, the ghost won't be watching him…

(mental pause as he realizes a flaw in the plan)

…But then, he would be watching me, right? Darn. Scratch that plan.

There's gotta be a way to convince him. I have to do something before my other half sends me to oblivion. If he decides to live this life, we won't be able to wake up and that creep will win.

I'm sure the Ghost Zone will be thrilled to know that someone got rid of Danny Phantom. I can practically see Spectra's face once she finds out that a ghost messed with my mind. Walker will be pleased to know that I'm trapped in some kind of prison, even if it's not like the one he intended at first. And Vlad might use the opportunity to comfort my mom about losing her son (mental shiver).

Ok… I must do something. Think, Danny, think. What can you do to snap yourself –well, actually, Fenton– out of a trance and back to reality? What can you possibly say to put some sense inside the other half of your brain?

There has to be something!

(mental pause; a light bulb is practically turned on above his head as he figures what to do)

Hmm… I wonder if that could work… If I'm going to try, I should wait when he's 'awake'.

* * *

"Good morning, sweetie. Are you feeling any better?" Maddie asked once she saw Danny in the kitchen. She was preparing his breakfast while Jack and Jazz sat on the table already eating theirs.

"Yeah. I was just having a bad day yesterday. That's all," he replied as he took his seat next to his sister. Talking to your dead dog sure puts things in perspective…

"Was it related to bullies or your teachers?" Jack asked. Danny raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

_Wow… dad used to ask if my problems were ghost-related. This is the first time I've ever heard him blame something else other than ghosts._

Unsure of what to answer, Danny began to stammer, "Uh, well, no, you see… It's just… well…" He sighed. "It's complicated. Nothing to worry about," he finished after a pause.

"Don't worry, honey. Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Maddie said as she placed a plate in front of her son.

They continued talking about trivial things until Jazz abruptly changed the subject, "Danny, we better hurry or we'll be late for school. I'll drive you there."

"Really? I'm not taking the bus today?" he asked skeptically.

"Of course not. You already had a rough day yesterday, I don't want this one to start being the same. So, hurry up. I'll wait for you in the car," Jazz replied sweetly and smiled as she left the room. Danny finished his breakfast and hurried outside, getting into his sister's car.

* * *

Jazz drove all the way to school and parked the vehicle. Danny took off his seatbelt and was about to open the door when his sister stopped him. "We're still on time. I wanted to talk to you."

The boy eyed her curiously. "Talk about what?"

Jazz took a deep breath. "I know you've been feeling like everything around you is odd. That everything's different from what you remembered. I could even bet that you've been questioning reality lately," she said.

Danny didn't dare to meet her eyes afraid that she might find out what's really eating him.

Jazz looked at him sternly and continued her speech. "Let me tell you something, Danny: things change. People change." She paused for a moment. "Even you," she said softly. Danny turned to eye her, wondering if she somehow knew what he was going through.

The girl continued talking. "It will be hard to fit in with the same classmates you used to have, and it will be hard to be around your friends, especially if you don't know what has happened to them this whole year. I'm sure that even mom and dad freak you out now that they seem so normal compared to what they used to be," she said, making a face. Danny grinned at that.

"So here's the thing: don't stress yourself. You'll figure it out. You're smart and I know that you'll find a way to adjust to your old life again. And you know that if there's anything you want to talk about, you can come to me and pour out your problems. After all, that's what big sisters are for," Jazz finished with a warm smile.

Danny's gaze returned to the ground. He sighed. "Listen, Jazz. I appreciate your words, but I'm not ready to talk yet," he said softly.

"I know. Take your time. There's no need to rush." She smirked after saying this.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe I should put my problems aside for a while and concentrate on having fun and goofing around like I used to. Maybe I'll be able to make things better if I try not to worry about everything," Danny considered out loud. "I mean, I'm still a kid, right? Who says I have to live a complicated life? That's all my decision. If things are dense, it's only because I want them to be."

Danny smiled and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Jazz. I feel better already."

Jazz smiled at him, "Any time, little brother. Any time."

Danny hoped out of the car and rushed towards his friends once he spotted them. His sister, however, remained on her same old spot. "Glad to know I was helpful, Danny," she said with a mischievous grin on her face while her eyes started to glow red. As soon as Danny was out of her sight, she disappeared.

* * *

**Notes: **

I couldn't resist the part with the dog. Sorry about that. I was trying to write something that didn't involve Danny's inner thoughts for a change.

Anyway, still confusing? (grins) And what is Phantom going to do now? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out…

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! How?**

**Write a letter:**

Cyma Zharghami or Marjorie Cohn

Nickelodeon

1515 Broadway

New York, New York

10036

USA

Attention: Programming.

OR 

**Sign the petitions below (without the spaces);**

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ SaveDannyplease

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ fightfordanny

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ DannyPhantom

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**And don't forget: spread the word! Let's keep the ghost-boy alive! (Err… or as alive as possible)**


	8. Hide and Seek

**Notes: **

Thank you very much for reading and reviewing this story. I'm glad to know that some of you enjoyed the part with the dog :) And I'm also pleased with the confusion generated after the last chapter, mwuahaha!

Anyway, this one deals more with Phantom than with Fenton. Be prepared for some explanations (pouts) even though I wanted to keep you guessing for a little longer. Oh, well.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Hide and Seek**

_Crowded halls equal a weakened warden. I knew that coming back to Casper High would work. He hasn't even noticed I'm around. Of course, I'm invisible, but that wouldn't stop him. He's going to get tired soon if he keeps posing as so many people. I could bet my ghost powers that as soon as Fenton goes to his locker, the others will leave the hall so that our ghostly fiend can recharge his energy._

Ok… now, to find Fenton. He should be here any moment now. Oh! There he is. It's now or never. I can't believe how easy it was to sneak in here like that. I still need to be careful, though. Who knows how long that ghost will be away?

Phantom flew silently and invisibly towards his human half. The boy, Fenton, was taking a book out of his locker. Sure enough, all the students in the hall left and the kid was now alone, giving the ghostly hero the opportunity he needed. Even the inseparable Sam and Tucker weren't around.

Still unseen, Phantom pulled out his hand and covered Fenton's mouth with it. The human teenager tried to free himself from his mysterious captor and attempted to yell for help. He was then dragged into an empty classroom nearby, which was about ten feet from his locker.

"Shhh… don't speak. Just listen. Calm down and nod if you understand me," Phantom whispered into his ear. Fenton recognized the voice and his eyes widened. However, even though he was somewhat shocked, he nodded. "Good. I'm going to release you now and make myself visible. We don't have much time so don't interrupt," the ghost continued. Fenton nodded again and was immediately freed from the invisible grasp.

Phantom did as he said, allowing himself to be seen. His human half turned around to face him and fell into a silent shock. After all, the last thing he remembered about the ghost is that he was only a dream, so he shouldn't have been able to touch him.

"Listen, I know everything's messed up and you're having some trouble trying to believe I'm real. That's why I'm going to prove it," the ghost told Fenton, who just looked at him quizzically. "There's a ghost playing with your head. I'm not exactly sure about the nature of his powers, but there are a few things I can tell you: he somehow managed to split our minds, and he plans on destroying us by feeding you with dreams of a perfect life. That way, you would renounce to your ghost half and we both would be trapped in this hell forever," he continued explaining.

The human boy just kept staring at Phantom trying to understand what he was saying. _But how do I know that he's not an illusion? I mean, no one else has seen him. Still, if they saw him and his story turns out to be true, then the 'enemy' he mentioned would try to do something to him, right? Agh! How can I know for sure?_

The ghost, noticing the hesitation in his human counterpart, sighed loudly. "Right, you need proof. That's what I'm here for. To prove it, like I said," he continued and stood firmly in front of Fenton. "Here's the deal: considering we're trapped in some sort of dream, I'm pretty confident that my powers work better in here and I think I can pull off a little trick."

As soon as he said this, Phantom closed his eyes, holding his clenched fists at the level of his waist. A white ring appeared just like it did when he wanted to turn back to human. The next thing Fenton saw was, well… himself. Standing in front of him.

Fenton took a step back and gasped. "If you're the Phantom part of me, how come you can turn into a human?" he asked, speaking for the first time since he saw the ghost.

The other boy just smirked. "I didn't turn into a human. I'm projecting a human illusion of myself… err, us… you? Well, you get my point," he replied.

"So what's the big plan, then?" Fenton questioned.

"Simple: I'll fool the ghost by making him think that I'm you. I'll talk to our friends, go to class, and all those things. If they can see me, then it's obvious I'm real and that I'm saying the truth. Deal?" Phantom explained, extending a hand for the other teenager to shake in agreement.

Fenton hesitated for a moment. _This is so weird. Man… I think 'weird' has been the word I've used the most in my vocabulary since I woke up. Anyway… Maybe I should trust him. It's not like I'm risking anything, except for my sanity but that has been screwed up lately, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference._

"All right. Deal," Fenton finally replied and took Phantom's hand, giving it a small shake.

"I'll go outside and act like you during the next period. You… well… just stay here and hide", the ghost said.

"Wait! I can't hide in here! There could be a class or something," Fenton exclaimed.

"Relax. He only makes people appear around you or, in this case, it will be around me. As long as he thinks I'm Danny Fenton, you can hide in here with no problem," Phantom explained with a secure tone. "Just one thing, though: try to block your thoughts."

Fenton raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

"Because, as soon as he regains his energy, he will continue scanning your mind or mine. If that happens, he will notice something's wrong and who knows what he might do…"

The bell then rang, startling the both of them. They looked into each other's eyes and nodded. "You'll know if my plan worked after class. I'll tell Tucker and Sam to see me outside this classroom. That way, you'll be able to hear whatever we talk about and you'll know I'm for real," Phantom said, preparing to leave the room.

"Why don't you try that now? Why do you want to wait for the end of the class?" Fenton asked.

The ghost shot him another smirk. "Because, if we're able to keep this charade for that long, we'll be closer to freedom".

Fenton looked at Phantom once again before he left the room and closed the door behind him. The human boy just sighed and sat on the floor.

_Just what I needed… more reasons to believe I'm losing my mind…_

Oh! Right. Block my thoughts.

* * *

Danny Phantom, disguised as Fenton, walked towards his classroom and met with his 'friends'. They waved and apparently fell for his human illusion. He smiled, satisfied by his accomplishment.

"Uh, are you alright? I think that's the first time we've seen you smile since yesterday," Sam said.

"What... is being happy a reason to worry now? C'mon. Let's just go to class," the blue-eyed teenager replied.

"You actually want to go to class?" Tucker asked skeptically.

Danny just shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm actually in a good mood right now."

The three teenagers walked into the classroom, where they took their seats and listened to Mr. Lancer as he began to teach his lesson.

_Good. So far, he hasn't noticed a thing. I hate to act as if those were really my friends, but I have to play this game for a few minutes. I hope my plan works…_

I have never felt so insecure before. Usually, I'm the part of our brain that keeps encouraging us. I'm the stubborn one who doesn't quit a fight or who doesn't give up on anything. I'm the one who lights the glow in those green eyes. I'm the one who wants to be the hero.

Actually, I can't believe the split we're going through didn't separate us like that one time with the Fenton Ghost Catcher. I guess that ghost chose which parts of our personality to keep and which ones to dismiss. He didn't want the courage, so he sent it to me. He wanted the doubt, so he sent most of it to Fenton. He didn't want to deal with the 'hero', so he locked me up in a dark 'room'. He wanted to keep the human side. To feed him with what he wanted the most: a taste of a normal life.

I can't blame the other part of me for that. After all, who would want to fight dangerous foes on a daily basis rather than living like a regular teenager? I understand that part of Fenton. Even if we've been divided like this, we still share most of the feelings, fears, and desires we had as a whole. I can't deny my insecure moments and I'm sure he can't ignore the inner voice telling him to seek the truth.

Maybe we didn't split as much as I thought we did… although I still have no clue about how to defeat this ghost or how to bring us back to reality.

He sighed as the class continued. Time was running fast and he found himself free of the lecture a couple of minutes later. He stood up from his desk as soon as the bell rang and walked outside of the classroom with Sam, Tucker, and Valerie, who didn't join them until now.

_I'm sure he didn't want to risk spending too much energy using three illusions instead of two. Making them walk around is one thing, but keeping them in character and having a conversation is another different situation._

"So, Danny, are you really feeling better or are you going to snap at us like yesterday?" Tucker asked.

Danny chuckled as naturally as he could. "Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"For starters, you avoided us all afternoon," Valerie now chimed in.

"Well, there was something bothering me," he began, trying to sound nervous about it.

_Time for a little game of confusion. He wants to mess with my head? Fine. But let's see how his trick works on him..._

"What about?" Sam asked intrigued.

Danny continued walking until he reached the door to the classroom where Fenton was hiding. He stopped there and sighed. "About us," he said, staring at the ground.

Meanwhile, the human Danny was behind the door waiting for them to approach so he could listen to whatever they said.

"Us?" the trio asked in unison.

"Not us four. Us three… Valerie, Sam, and I. No offense, Tucker," Danny replied.

"None taken," the dark-skinned boy said immediately.

"What about us?" Sam and Valerie now questioned.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you know. How it seems like we clashed into a little love triangle," he said sheepishly.

_Hey… even if they're illusions, I still feel wary about that kind of topics..._

He took a deep breath and continued. "Listen, I think we have to sort this out. You know I have feelings for both of you and I know both of you have feelings for me... but what's it going to be?"

The two girls exchanged surprised looks and then turned to face once again the boy.

"You have to be kidding me," Sam said in disbelief.

"Yeah, you can't expect us to make a decision like that all of the sudden," Valerie added.

"You wanted to know what was wrong? Well, there you have it," Danny said.

"I thought you were confused about the whole Phantom thing," Sam now spoke.

Tucker, who had been watching the conversation like it was a tennis match, just shook his head and decided to intervene. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't come to them with that kind of information. YOU'RE the one who should figure it out on your own."

"You're right, but I need help from them. I've been so confused lately that I don't think I'll ever figure this out by myself," Danny explained.

_Ha! I want to see him solve THAT part of Fenton's dilemma! After all, if he wants to keep the boy happy with this imaginary world, he'll have to fulfill his wishes. That should give us some time to come up with a plan to escape from this guy. If he's distracted with this, he won't pay any attention to me and then, I'll be able to stay out of my prison. It's ferpect! I mean, perfect!_

I think I still need my other half of the brain...

He watched his three 'friends' talk and was amused by the lengths he had to go to ensure his freedom. "Think about it, will ya? Oh! And why don't you go ahead to the cafeteria? I'll meet you there in a minute," Danny said.

Tucker, Sam, and Valerie stopped their conversation and decided to follow their friend's suggestion by heading to the lunch room.

As soon as they were out of sight, he noticed he was once again alone in the hall, so he opened the door and Fenton fell out of the classroom to the floor.

"So… convinced?" Phantom asked his human counterpart as he changed again to his ghostly self.

Fenton remained on the floor wide-eyed and with his mouth open. "Ok… I believe you," he replied.

Phantom gave him a hand and pulled him up, smirking while doing so.

Once on his feet, Fenton shot him a nasty look. "You do know you didn't have to bring up the whole thing with Sam and Val, right?"

Phantom just laughed as soon as the human teenager said that.

_We're back!_

* * *

**Notes: **

And here's where I begin to feel that things are clearer. Man… that sucks. (As Youngblood) I wanted to see your heads go 'Kaboom!'. But if I keep writing about the poor and tormented Danny Fenton, then I'd kick myself for being so repetitive.

So there you have it… a bit of the explanation.

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! How?**

**Write a letter:**

Cyma Zharghami or Marjorie Cohn

Nickelodeon

1515 Broadway

New York, New York

10036

USA

Attention: Programming.

-

**Sign the petitions below (without the spaces);**

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ SaveDannyplease

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ fightfordanny

www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ DannyPhantom

**www. petitionspot. com/ petitions/ dannyphantomrules**

-

Continue the chain (without the spaces):

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**And don't forget: spread the word! Let's keep the ghost-boy alive! (Err… or as alive as possible)**


	9. Red Eyes

**Notes: **

I have to be honest with all of you: I was not fully convinced about the last chapter when I posted it. Needless to say, I was kinda worried about your response. So, I really mean it when I say: THANK YOU! You guys rock out loud.

Anyway… here's a new chapter. The beginning is about what happened to Fenton while he was in the empty classroom (in case you don't get it right away).

* * *

**Chapter 9: Red Eyes**

_Block my thoughts._

Block my thoughts.

Block my thoughts? How the hell am I going to do that? Maybe if I put my mind to think about something else. Something random. Like… let's say… oranges.

Yeah… that's it! Oranges. That's a very random thing. Even the Ghost Writer thought so when he…

Oh, crud…

How is it that I can link something as common as an orange to an enemy I had when I was Danny Phantom? Whether it was in a dream or not…

Ok. I have to think of something else.

Music? No. That will remind be about Ember.

Movies? No. There's those two times with Desiree… the first when Tucker became a ghost at the movies and the second when Sam made a wish after Tuck and I turned her down with the premiere she wanted to attend.

Food? No. Lunch Lady.

Boxes? No. Box Ghost.

Computers? No. Technus.

Animals? No. Vlad's pets and Skulker's box of oddities.

(Sigh)

Bet that leaves me with no other choice: childhood memories.

Danny Fenton sat comfortably on the floor with his back against the door of the empty classroom. Phantom had just left a couple of minutes ago so he still needed to think of ways to spend his time before his ghost half came back with his friends.

He sighed and passed his fingers through his black hair. _Maybe I should start with the oldest memories I've got._

He closed his eyes and started remembering things such as the first time he met his two best friends, the time he broke his leg while climbing up a tree, the day his parents took him to the carnival when he was eight, or the countless occasions in which he and Jazz used to play and even fight. All of them were good memories he hadn't thought about for a while.

This last bit reminded him why he hadn't thought about all of it: the accident in the lab. Whether it resulted with him in a coma or with ghost powers, it was until now that he evoked those recollections.

He tried to avoid any ghost-related memory brought to his mind, but failed miserably. Before he could give up on the matter, a voice nearby startled him.

"About us," the familiar voice coming from the hall said.

Danny leaned closer to the door to listen attentively to whatever his ghostly counterpart and his friends were saying. He pressed his ear against the wooden surface of the door.

"Us?" three other voices asked in unison.

Fenton was curious about whatever Phantom was trying to do. He raised an eyebrow as he listened about how the boy posing as him said he wanted to talk about the current love triangle with Sam and Valerie. The eavesdropping boy couldn't stop his face from blushing.

_What the hell is he thinking? Who on Earth asks two girls to make a decision like that? Although, I must say it was a good way to convince me he's real. I would NEVER hallucinate doing a thing like THAT._

Seriously… what was he thinking?

The next thing Fenton heard was a click from the knob and he fell out of the room to the floor. His wide eyes met the still blue ones of his phantom half.

"So... convinced?" Phantom asked as he let the two rings transform him back to his ghastly self.

_He was tangible this time, he spoke with my friends, AND he brought up a topic I would never consider talking about. So, am I convinced? Given to all the weird things that happened to me as Danny Phantom, I shouldn't be so surprised if he's telling the truth about the ghost who wants to destroy us._

"Ok… I believe you," Fenton replied simply. He then took Phantom's gloved hand and stood up.

Once on his feet, Fenton shot him a nasty look. "You do know you didn't have to bring up the whole thing with Sam and Val, right?"

Phantom just laughed as soon as the human teenager said that.

_What's so funny about that? I mean it. He didn't have to bring it up. (Sigh) Ok, I believe there are far more important things to be dealing with right now. So, I have to ask…_

"What are we going to do now?"

"He's going to be busy with what I just told him," Phantom informed Fenton.

"Yeah. But… What. Are. We. Going. To. Do. Now?" the human half asked slowly, thinking that the ghost just ignored his previous question.

"You go on and take your place. Act as usual. Meanwhile, I'll try to find how to get out of this trance or whatever it is. I mean… there has to be a way we can communicate to the outside, right? I don't know. If I could get control of our mouth so we can at least mumble something. I'll see what can be done," the ghostly hero said and was about to phase through the ceiling but Fenton stopped him.

"Wait…" he started. The boy then shifted uncomfortably. "What if there's no way to make our minds merge? Or what if we never wake up? What then?" Fenton asked, not hiding his fear.

Phantom's expression was a cold and serious one. "Maybe you don't remember this, but I'm the Danny who never gives up. YOU still have that in you. That's how you should know that we are going to succeed one way or another. I told you before and I'll say it again: I would never think about giving up on you. We are a team. Together, we'll beat that mind-twisting fiend," the ghost stated.

Fenton blinked a couple of times and then began to chuckle. Phantom raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?" Ironic how it was now the ghost's turn to be unable to find what was so amusing of the situation.

"Who says there's no "I" in team, right?" Fenton replied with a smile.

Phantom rolled his eyes. "You're late with that remark. The other half of your mind already thought about it," he said with a smirk and then took off. "I'll drop by later." The ghost phased through the ceiling and left the human boy alone.

Fenton just sighed and started walking towards the cafeteria. _I hope he's right… There must be a way to get out of this._

* * *

The rest of the day went on almost as usual. Danny spent some time with his friends (who were still confused about the whole conversation they had earlier with the one they thought was Danny), he then went home with Jazz (who didn't talk much on their way to FentonWorks), he locked himself in his room, and avoided everyone for the remainder of the day.

He didn't have any homework but he supposed his ghostly foe was so distracted that he forgot about it. So, Danny found himself with nothing to do but wait for Phantom to return.

As the boy rested on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he supposed it was safe to 'unblock' his thoughts considering that the evil ghost was probably busy trying to figure out what to do with Danny's love life.

_There has to be something I can do. No way am I leaving Phantom alone with all the work. If this ghost has been centering his power towards me, then I could be the key to stop whatever he's trying to accomplish._

Let's check the facts according to Phantom:

1) It's a ghost. 2) He split our minds. 3) He's trying to destroy us. 4) He gets weak if he uses too much energy. 5) He's using me to vanish Phantom from existence.

So… if I hold on to my ghost half, he will remain intact. We would be stronger. What if all it takes for our enemy to fade is just some concentration? Like… trying to unmask his charade or something. Seeing is believing, right? But what if not believing is not seeing? If we refuse to believe his lies, the dream-like prison he created should fade. Then, maybe, just maybe, we could go back to normal.

It's worth a shot. I should tell Phantom as soon as he comes back.

Danny continued staring at the ceiling and tried to imagine it was not there. He tested his theory but nothing happened. He tried with something smaller and less complicated like a coin he had in his pocket. He could've sworn he saw the quarter blur a bit, but nothing else happened.

With no real activities for him to do now that he knew that everything surrounding him wasn't real, he got bored and slowly fell asleep.

…

_It was dark. He couldn't see a thing. The air was cold and the wind brushed past his face. He was mostly numb but somewhere in his lack of sensation he recognized a familiar feeling: pain._

His head ached and his throat was sore, just like it felt when he released his Ghostly Wail. He then realized why everything was so dark… his eyes were closed.

Slowly, trying to ignore the pain, he began to move his eyelids to see where he was. He knew so far that he was resting on a hard surface. It almost felt like the pavement. His vision was blurry but he managed to focus on a figure kneeling by his side. It was a shadow-like creature wearing a black cloak. Its intense red eyes were directing their gaze on the boy.

'Very hard to miss…' Danny thought dryly. He remembered he has said the exact same thing not long ago and gasped at the sudden realization.

"You're him!" he said in a raspy voice.

The creature, who had his hands held over Danny as if he were absorbing the boy's energy, began to glow and his red eyes were the last things Danny could see before losing consciousness.

…

Danny woke up startled. He sat with a bolt on his bed and immediately looked at his surroundings.

_Did I dream that or was I able to do what I think I did?_

Just then, Phantom flew quickly into the room with an alarmed expression. "Something's wrong. I think he knows what we're trying to do. I can feel his energy turning stronger all of the sudden," the ghost boy said concerned.

Fenton was still in shock after his dream. He turned to face Phantom and looked at him directly in the eye. "I think I know what happened," the human started softly. Phantom listened attentively. "I think I was able to reach the real world but he sent me back to sleep or whatever this is."

"What? Are you serious?" the ghostly hero asked in surprise. The other Danny nodded. "What did you do? How did you manage to wake up?"

The human boy remained silent for a couple of seconds. "I just went to sleep and found myself lying on the street with a creepy guy kneeling next to me. But I don't know how I did it or who that was," he replied honestly.

"If he really knows, we're screwed," Phantom said.

Before any of them could add anything else, a knock on the door snapped them out of their thoughts and interrupted their conversation. Both of them looked at each other.

"Danny, open the door. We need to talk," the voice of Jazz called from outside the room.

* * *

**Notes: **Sorry for the cliffy and for any confusing moments. And sorry about the length.

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! Check at the bottom of the previous chapter for ways to help.**


	10. I've got a theory

**Notes: **

Wow. I'm at a loss of words (not literally or else I wouldn't be writing another chapter, right?). It's just that I'm very thankful for all your comments and the favs given. Really… much appreciated._ Muchisísimas gracias!_

I'm also glad to know that the previous chapter wasn't confusing and that you didn't mind about the length.

Anyway… the show must go on! Oh, my… Chapter 10 already?

* * *

**Chapter 10: I've got a theory**

_"Danny… open the door…"_ Jazz insisted as she once again tried to turn the knob only to find it locked.

Both Fenton and Phantom looked at each other. "What do we do?" the human boy asked.

"I should hide. You have to act naturally. Don't make her suspicious," the ghost replied, starting to float outside the room.

"Are you coming back?" Fenton asked before his ghost half could disappear. The phantom just nodded and faded from view.

_Ok. This is it. I'll just open the door and get this over with._

Danny hesitated before unlocking the door to allow his 'sister' in. He took a step back as she stormed into his room. He really didn't know what to expect. She seemed a bit angry and a bit concerned. Danny hoped she hadn't figured out his plan with Phantom, although they didn't have that much of a plan yet.

"Care to tell me what happened today?" Jazz asked, her voice full of worry.

"About what?" Danny asked confused and somewhat nervous.

"You know well about what…" she paused for a moment as she looked at her brother expectantly, but the boy gave her a blank look. She sighed before continuing. "About your little conversation today with Sam and Valerie? Ring any bells?"

Danny now stared at her in confusion. _Wow, I thought she would want to talk about Phantom. Wait… Oh, no…_

"How did you know about that?" he asked nervously.

Jazz sat on his bed and crossed her legs. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You were a year in a coma, remember? I've been talking to your friends for a while. Sam told me about it on the phone just a couple of minutes ago," she replied, as if it were obvious.

Danny rubbed the back of his head trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "I… uh… took your advice and tried to talk about my feelings to see if I could fix a few things…"

Jazz gave him a confused look. "I told you not to stress yourself and to talk if you wanted to, but what you did is just silly".

"Sorry, I messed up. I'll talk to them tomorrow. I promise," Danny smiled at her as warmly as possible. He felt awkward having this conversation with a figment of his imagination or ghost… or whatever Jazz was in his head.

The older sibling approached her brother and ruffled his hair before heading out of the room. "Just think before you blurt something like that next time, little brother," she said with a wink and disappeared into the hall.

Danny sighed as he closed the door once again. _Why did my parents have to build that stupid portal? It has been the source of all my problems in both the real world and the dream one._

There has to be a way to beat this thing. We must get out of here somehow. Though I don't know how we can defeat that freak.

Wait! My dream… I'm not sure but I think I was about to wake up.

The image of the cloaked ghost kneeling by his side popped in his head.

_I've seen him before. He's the last ghost I fought. Before I fell from the building. Before I woke up from a coma. But which one is it? There were two. What if they're working together?_

Another memory flashed in his mind. _'Why would I want to speak if I don't have any business with you?'_ the second ghost asked him that fateful night.

_What did he mean by that? Maybe he didn't want to hurt me. No, that's not it. He used some kind of telekinetic power to make me float out of the building…_

…by holding his hand up! Maybe he was the one kneeling by my side and that's why he had his hands above me. He was using some kind of power to keep me unconscious!

So, maybe he didn't have a business with Phantom, but he probably had a business with Fenton.

But what about the other one? They look alike. They're probably together in this. Maybe one is tricking the Phantom and another the Fenton me…

And if I'm still unconscious on the middle of the street, why hasn't anyone gone to help me? I wouldn't be that hard to miss if I'm on the ground in front of a collapsed building.

Unless…

If this is all in my head, maybe time is not moving the same way it does as in the real world. Maybe it has only been a couple of minutes since I hit the ground.

Did I even hit the ground at all? The fall would've killed me or at least left me with a serious head injury…

… is that why I'm even hallucinating all this? Did I have a head injury and the ghost used it to get into my mind? Or what if he 'saved' me at the last minute?

Geez… so many questions and not enough answers. I seriously don't have a clue of what I should do.

Hmm, now that I think about it, it was not until I fell asleep that I could reach the real world. And ever since I supposedly 'woke up' from that coma, I haven't been able to sleep well. I couldn't even dream anything. Until now.

So… if I sleep, I might wake up from this dream? It's worth giving it a shot…

But if I do wake up, what will happen to Phantom? Where is he anyway?

* * *

Phantom had returned to the darkness of his cell, figuring that his captor was probably growing suspicious and might look for him.

Fair enough, the ghost showed up. _"I don't know how you did it, but you're not getting away that easily. You seem to forget that there's no way out even if your human side believes you,"_ the dark figure told the white-haired phantom. His voice was deep and somewhat soothing.

He turned around preparing to leave when something unexpected happened: his prisoner shot a beam at him. "You might be controlling our mind, but you're still a ghost and I'm still a fighter, which means that I can still beat you," Phantom said smugly as he walked towards his tormentor.

The cloaked fiend shot him a sly smile and began to cackle. _"You're a fool,"_ he said, without moving his lips. Phantom hadn't noticed until now. In fact, this was the first time he came this close to see the ghost's features. His eyes glowed red and his glowing smirk gave him an eerie effect to his blank face. Actually, he didn't have a real face. It seemed like his eyes and smile just floated between the shadows inside his cloak.

The dark garment also covered the rest of his body. No arms or legs (nor tail) could be seen. So that was it. He was some sort of cloak filled with smoke and who happened to have eyes and teeth.

The ghost boy shivered as soon as he saw the fiend clearly (or as clearly as possible)._ Wait… I've seen him before. He's the last ghost I fought before I ended up in this place. Well, one of the two I battled. But which one? Ah, who cares. They're probably together in this…_

The creature then held a hand in front of him with his palm facing the boy. Danny paled as soon as he saw this. So he does have hands. _Crud… that can't be good._

The hand began to glow in a dark shade of red and soon the ghastly hero began to feel pain. It was hard to describe it, mostly because of the unbearable feeling he was dealing with now. He felt as if his head wanted to explode and the rest of his muscles ached with a burning sensation.

"What the heck are you doing to me?" the boy managed to scream.

_"I might not be able to destroy you by convincing Fenton to do the job for me, but I'm still in charge here. Now that the boy is useless to me, I don't see the point in keeping him," _the ghost then approached Danny. _"You see… it was going to be much more fun to see him destroy you while I fed from his energy, but now that I'm fully charged, I can use that energy to control you. And now, you will kill him,"_ the figure added with a dark smile.

"Fully charged?" Phantom asked in confusion. His brain then processed the rest of the cryptic message. "Wait, what? Kill Fenton? You must be kidding me…"

_"Ah, my dear boy… did you seriously think that I was growing weaker by the minute? The only reason why I allowed you and Fenton some freedom was because I was too busy absorbing his energy to even care about what you did,"_ the enemy replied in a bored tone.

Danny was curled on the ground (or at least what felt like ground) trying to fight the horrible pain that filled him. He tried to suppress an agonizing scream but he could barely stand it. "What are you? What did I ever do to you to deserve this?" Phantom asked through clenched teeth.

_"You don't get it, do you? This isn't about some vendetta. This was never about some sort of game with the rest of the ghosts to see who could get you first. You have power beyond anyone's dreams. Oh, excuse me for the terrible pun,"_ he said with a playful grin. Danny just glared at him as he used his hands to grab his stomach. _"You are an excellent source of energy. The fact that you are half a ghost and half a human is what made you my target. You see, I'm by most known as a Dream Eater, though I'd rather be called Remy. At least that name doesn't give away the source of my power: dreams. I feed from people's fantasies and hopes," _the ghost continued.

"Aww, how nice of you," Danny mocked even though he still felt the burning sensation. "I thought that a dream eater ate the bad dreams".

_"Don't believe everything you read, my boy. Besides, don't you even want to know what made you so attractive?"_ When he didn't get a response from his victim, the Dream Eater again held his hand and telekinetically pinned Danny against some sort of wall. _"Ghosts don't dream"._

"Ghosts have unfinished business. Of course they dream," the boy said unsure of his response.

_"No. They have ambitions, yes. But they don't dream anymore. They don't go to sleep thinking about their future, about love, about their hopes. The only desires they have are to fulfill their unfinished business, as you call it. They have nothing else to look forward to. Not even life. They're dead. As simple as that. You, on the other hand, are not. You're still half alive. Your ghost is tainted by your human emotions and even its dreams. Dreams of having a normal life, of getting away from all of this, of getting a certain girl to like you back, of being an astronaut… You're perfect,"_ Remy finished.

"If I'm so perfect, why do you want to destroy me?" Phantom challenged. He was now unable to move but at least the pain was more bearable.

_"The only useful thing about your ghost half is your power. It's your human side's dreams that keep me going. If I made him forget about you, then I would be able to feed from that power without you interfering," _Remy replied.

"So, if his dreams were fulfilled, you got stronger. But now that he knows about you, you can't feed from him anymore" the boy said, trying to sort things out.

The dream eater just stared at him._ "This has been a wonderful conversation, but I'm afraid that you and I have a job to do. Mostly you, of course"._

Remy sent another wave of energy towards Phantom. The green-eyed boy screamed in pain as he was surrounded by the same crimson glow that emanated from his captor's hands.

* * *

Danny Fenton went out for a walk once again. He couldn't stand watching the illusion of his family nor the emptiness that he felt in his own room. He kept walking with no real direction. His feet stopped once he reached a familiar place: the building under construction where he battled the two ghosts.

_Weird… why would he put this building in my mental scenario if it would remind me about the fight we had?_

He shrugged it off as he headed inside the construction site. No one was there. The workers had already gone home (if one was to follow the logic used in real life and apply it in this dream). He reached the floor where he had last been and sat on a pile of bricks. The building didn't have the front wall yet, so Danny was able to see the town of Amity Park just before the sunset. It seemed so calm, so quiet. As if nothing could go wrong in such a beautiful view.

_That's what he wanted me to believe. That somehow things were perfect. That nothing would hurt me ever again. And I was so eager to live a normal life that I failed to notice all the facts put in front of me. Life isn't perfect. Life is far from pretty. Perhaps being half ghost isn't normal either, but at least I had obstacles in that life. Nothing was ever easy. But having difficulties is part of what makes us humans and what keeps us growing. It's through struggle that we learn. We fall just to stand up and dust ourselves off._

And God knows I've fallen hard as Danny Phantom. I've made terrible mistakes and dealt with the consequences or at least I learned from it. When I faced my evil future self, I used it as a lesson. That's what would've happened if I took the easy way. And, unknowingly, I was almost doing just that by believing this fantasy. I saw an easy way out and took it. I evaded my responsibilities as Amity Park's protector.

I was willing to push aside my Phantom half.

Well, at least he didn't get mad at me for doing so. Being a misunderstood hero sure gave him the means necessary to understand others. I guess I should learn something from him too.

Hmm… I hope he knows how to find me. On second thought, I just hope he wasn't trapped again.

Danny stood up and turned around to leave, but stopped mid-step when he noticed Phantom standing in front of him with his eyes closed.

"Hey, what took you so long? I was starting to worry that you wouldn't be able to escape this time," Fenton said as he approached the ghost. Phantom didn't respond or move, which made the human boy grow a little concerned. "Uh… Phantom, are you alright?"

As soon as the blue-eyed teenager said this, Phantom's eyes shot open, revealing a burgundy tone in his gaze. Fenton jumped back in shock and the ghost began to raise his hand, making it glow green as he prepared to release a beam towards his human counterpart.

* * *

**Notes: **

And now, you finally know who the evil ghost is. I'll give a chocolate to anyone who gets the reference for the name 'Remy'. Sorry for the cliffhanger.

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! Check at the bottom of chapter 8 for ways to help.**


	11. Hit and Run

**Interesting. It seems like there's a character named Remy in FOP. I actually didn't know this so thanks for the info, hehe.**

**Actually, the name for the villain came from the stage of sleep known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which is when most dreams occur. Also, the body cannot move during this stage (wink).**

**Congratulations to those who guessed it correctly: Miss Selarne and deranged black kitten of doom. Expect Willy Wonka to deliver your chocolate personally to your doorstep.**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing this story. I'm glad to know that you liked the twist.**

**Anyway, here's a new chapter… and it's early! Woohoo!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Danny Phantom_, yadda, yadda, yadda.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Hit and Run**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!", Danny Fenton yelled at top of his lungs as he tried to dodge the blast sent by Phantom. He landed behind the pile of bricks to get cover as the smoke distracted his attacker.

The ghost's facial expression was dark and serious. Not even a playful smile could be seen on his face. His red eyes, however, didn't look dull like they did when he was under mind control. He seemed to know perfectly who he was trying to hurt and, so far, it appeared like he didn't really care.

His two gloved hands glowed green as he walked slowly towards the place where he had last seen the raven-haired boy. Danny, who was still trying to cope with the recent events, scanned his surroundings looking for a way out or at least something to use as a weapon against the specter.

_That's not him. It has to be the other guy, the ghost who sent me into this delusional plane. Phantom promised he would never give up on me. He wanted to fight against that mind-twisting jerk just as much as I did. That has to be an illusion, right?_

_Ok. Exit… weapon… anything! I have to find a way out of here._

His eyes noticed something at the other side of the room: a metallic cage-like elevator. Seeing that his ghastly alter ego was just two feet away from him, he quickly grabbed a brick and threw it towards the red-eyed Phantom.

Danny hoped to hit the ghost and then run as fast as he could towards the elevator. However, instead of the expected result, the brick went through the ghost boy's head, leaving him unharmed. Fenton flinched as soon as he noticed he was now in clear view for his attacker to hit.

_Oh, crud. This can't be good._

Danny started stepping back as Phantom's gaze narrowed and his fists glowed brighter. "You're just an illusion created by that maniac. You can't hurt me", the human teenager nervously tried to reason, though he wasn't convinced about what he was saying.

Phantom walked closer. "You have to die. You're the only thing that holds me back", the ghost said in a deep voice. It even sounded more inhuman than before. However, even as he said this, his expression didn't change at all.

The baby blue eyes of the human fifteen year-old went wide as soon as his counterpart spoke. He continued walking backwards trying to stay away of the ghost, but he was starting to get closer to the edge of the floor. After all, there was still a wall missing, which meant that Danny could have a four-story fall if he wasn't careful.

_I'm what holds him back? Could that be Phantom after all? No. No way! He wouldn't!_

"No! You can't be him! Where's Phantom? What did you do to him?" Danny demanded trying to sound more secure in his tone.

The ghost stopped for a brief second to stare directly into the eyes of the boy in front of him. "I AM Phantom. And _you_ are my enemy," he said again in the same deep voice as before. His words were not showing any emotion. He seemed empty somehow.

As the specter resumed his pace, Danny gave just one more step back and stopped when he noticed that his heel was on the edge. One bad move and he would be definitely dead.

Fenton returned his gaze to his ghost half. "Listen, you don't want to do this. I don't know what the heck he did to you, but I know you can fight it. I know you can. You're the hero. The fighter, remember?"

Phantom stood there, blinking at the boy. His fists seemed to relax a little although they were still glowing.

"You have to snap out of it. You're stronger than him," Danny continued, trying to take the ghost out of his trance. "You had faith in me. And now, I have faith in you. I know you'll do the right thing. You're more than a ghost".

Phantom shook his head and seemed to come out of his daze. "You're right. I AM more than a ghost," he said in his usual tone. He approached Danny with a smile and then grabbed him by the shirt, which startled the human boy. "I'm a monster," he added with a whisper before he released Fenton from his grip, making him take the dreaded four-story fall.

"Wait! NOOOOOO!" Danny screamed. Gravity had claimed another victim. As he got closer to the ground, he could still see Phantom's dark grin.

The wind caressed his face before he collided against the cement. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, preparing himself for the brutal impact.

Three seconds left.

_I can't let my human side die…_

Two seconds left.

…_but it looks like I've lost._

One second left.

_If this is what it takes to live a normal life, how wrong I was…_

He took a deep breath and embraced himself.

Nothing.

Five seconds passed and still nothing happened. Danny was afraid of opening his eyes in case his gaze met the pavement. After all, he still felt the wind against his face. Nervously, he cracked one eye open and noticed he was flying above the building.

"I'm alive? I'm alive! Wait… I'm flying?" he asked no one in particular with confusion tainting his tone.

"Of course you're alive. Did you seriously think I would let you die?" a deep and soothing voice unexpectedly replied to the boy's musings.

_I recognize that voice._

Danny turned around and noticed that there was a dark-cloaked figure holding him by the back of his shirt, so he really wasn't flying. He was being carried. The creature's eyes were glowing red as he stared down at the boy.

"You! You're the one behind this!" Danny yelled in anger as he recognized the figure as one of the ghosts he was fighting before he entered this delusional plane.

The ghost continued flying away from the building where Phantom was last seen. He watched his path, no longer looking at the boy. "Calm down, child. I wouldn't be saving you if I was the one responsible of your current state".

Raising an eyebrow, Danny's expression turned into one of confusion. "What? You mean you didn't do this?" No reply came.

The ghost landed on the same pet cemetery Fenton visited a night ago. Now that he floated in front of Danny, the boy could notice he was wearing a black cloak, which kept his body and face hidden. Looking closer, he could see a few of his facial features, including his red eyes and the ethereal aspect of his whole being. He tried to remember the other ghost, the one who was kneeling by his side when he woke up, but it was different from this one. Both were shadow-like creatures, but the one who just saved the human teenager seemed somewhat older and more built than the other one.

_Could this mean they're not the same?_

Narrowing his gaze, Fenton eyed the ghost curiously. "Who or _what _are you?" he asked.

"I'm known by many names. Some like to call me the Sandman, others refer to me as Morpheus. In all honesty, I don't mind about a name. All you need to know is that I'm The Guardian of Dreams and that I'm here to help you," the ghost replied.

"Help me? So you're not working with the other ghost?" Danny questioned.

The Guardian of Dreams gave an exasperated sigh. "Of course not. The one you were fighting is a Dream Eater, and I would have taken him into custody if you hadn't been meddling in my job," he replied sharply.

Danny was taken aback. "What?" he asked, his tone higher than usual. He crossed his arms and shot an angry glance at his rescuer. "Oh, so now it's my fault," he said disdainfully.

"If you must know, it is. By attacking me you let the Dream Eater get away. And even now that you're trapped in here, it's also a result of your own actions".

The blue-eyed teen didn't like the sound of that. His expression changed into one of concern. "What do you mean by 'trapped'?"

The Guardian remained silent for a second. Had his face been more detailed and visible, it would've shown a grim look. "As soon as I reached your body in the real plane, you were lying on the street. But you were alone. The Dream Eater was already gone".

Danny paled. "You mean Phantom wasn't being controlled by that freak?"

_That can't be possible. Why would he attack me?_

Looking around, the ghost motioned Danny to take a seat on a headstone nearby. "Before your tormentor left, he decided to give you a little present by removing your ghost half's emotions. As you know, he separated your human half and your ghost side. When he did so, he gave you some aspects of your personality while he gave others to Phantom. Right now, the few emotions your ghost half still had, were transferred to you and he was left with nothing but rage towards you".

Fenton gasped. "_What?_ Why?"

"Maybe it's just because you remind him of everything he once was," a voice came from above the graveyard. Danny turned his head to face the newcomer, though he already knew who it was by the sound of his voice. "Human," the red-eyed Phantom finished as he started floating down to stand in front of his counterpart.

Paling, Fenton turned to face The Guardian of Dreams. "This, my boy, is your fight now. You'll know what to do when the time comes," he told the shocked human before he faded from view.

"No! Wait!" Danny yelled after the ghost but it was too late. He was now alone with the enraged ghastly version of himself.

_Well, that sure was supportive._

Phantom smirked as he approached Fenton. "Guess it's just you and me now. Don't you just love these bitter reunions?"

_Oh, no. I have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. What the heck am I supposed to do now? Hmm, if the Dream Eater is not controlling my dream anymore, that must mean I'm the one in charge now. It's worth a shot._

_That's it! A shot!_

Danny closed his eyes and tried to concentrate hard or a certain object that would come in handy: the Fenton Thermos.

Phantom looked at him quizzically and gave him a smug smile. "What, you don't want to see how I beat the crap out of you?"

_Fenton Thermos. Fenton Thermos. Fenton Thermos. Please… let it there be a Fenton Thermos._

Just then, the desired object appeared floating in front of his eyes. He held his hands in front of it and the container fell into his palms. It was now Fenton's turn to shoot his 'enemy' a smug smile. "No. I just didn't want to see your pained expression once I sucked you into our old reliable Thermos".

Phantom smirked. "Go ahead. Give it your best shot".

* * *

**Good? Bad? Does it need a flame? Let me know in your comments.**

**I apologize if you think this was rather short. But, hey! At least it was updated on time, hehe.**

**In case you want to know, this story is getting close to the end.**

**Anyway, I'll see you in a week (around March 11th).**

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! Check at the bottom of chapter 8 for ways to help.**


	12. Me, Myself, and Eirene

**Early update! Early update! (don't get used to this). Anyway, thanks for understanding about the length of the previous chapter. And thank you very much for all your comments. They are truly much appreciated. I hope you enjoy this update.**

**Crappy title, but it fits this chapter, as you'll soon find out. Oh, and when I say Danny, I mean the human Danny, Fenton. His ghost half will be referred to as Phantom at least throughout this chapter, savvy?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Danny Phantom_. (This is getting repetitive…)**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Me, Myself, and Eirene**

_(Eirene or Irene - the goddess of peace in Greek Mythology)_

Phantom smirked. "Go ahead. Give it your best shot".

Glares locked, the boys just stood in front of each other as if they were in some kind of duel. Fenton couldn't help but feel uneasy with the ghost's cocky smile. He didn't show it, though. Danny's face kept a determined expression on it. He was definitely eager to end all this.

Moving his fingers anxiously around the lid of the Thermos, the human boy quickly threw himself to the ground, rolled to the side, and aimed the cylindrical container towards the one who, sadly, was now his enemy.

By attempting this move to protect himself from any attack, Danny momentarily lost sight of his ghost half.

Fenton's eyes went wide. "Where the hell did he-".

"Go?" a voice behind him asked and Phantom made himself visible as he kicked the boy's stomach. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you," he continued as he gave Fenton another kick. "At least not until I end with your miserable existence".

Danny attempted to stand up and aim the Thermos once again towards the specter. He held it firmly and activated it as he rolled to lie on his back. "How do you know you're not going to be stuck in here forever if you kill me?" he taunted as the blue beam emanating from the container missed the ghost.

Phantom smirked once again as he prepared another blast for Fenton. "Maybe because I know that the only reason we're stuck in here is because we're two people trying to control one body. But if there's only one…" he paused as he fired his ghost ray. Fenton, who was on his feet now, ducked as the beam missed him. "See my problem? So, even if you do lock me in that ridiculous Thermos, you won't have me contained enough to sneak back to reality. It's pretty useless. You might want to consider killing yourself if you don't want me to do the honors".

With a fierce glare, Danny simply stood in front of the specter. He clenched his fists, feeling his blood boil in anger as he heard the venomous words the white-haired boy spat.

_I can't believe THAT was once my ghost half. Did I have all that darkness inside of me? No. Whatever Phantom is now, it is only my fault. He shouldn't have gone to hide far away from me. He shouldn't have been alone with the dream eater after he told me the truth. But, is he far from saving? He is serious about killing me. Maybe I should try to hold him back while I think of something. The stunt with the Thermos didn't go as planned, but all I need is a little back up to make it work._

He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat as his facial features relaxed. "You're probably right, but I promised myself I wouldn't give up on you again. I already made that mistake once". His right hand was now hiding behind his back. "And I'm sorry". He tightened his grip on an object he summoned. "For this!" he finished as he fired an ecto-gun that (finally) hit Phantom on the chest.

The ghost fell to the ground with his upper torso aching. There was still some smoke where the weapon had left its smoldering mark. He remained motionless as Danny slowly walked towards him with his gun prepared. Suddenly, Phantom laughed. He sat up and looked at Fenton with an amused look on his face. His cackling started dying down as he spoke. "You do realize that's the second time you make that mistake, don't you?"

The blue-eyed teenager shot him a nervous glance. "How so?" he dared to ask.

Phantom now floated a couple of inches above the boy. "Because if you can alter this plane's reality, so can I," he told him in a confident tone that chilled Fenton to the bones.

_Oh, crud. How didn't I see that coming? What the heck is he going to do now?_

Before he could say anything, Danny started feeling heavy and began to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the triumphant smile of his ghostly alter ego.

* * *

_My head hurts. What did he do to me?_

Danny groaned and tried to open his eyes as soon as he started to regain consciousness. He could feel he was resting on a hard surface. Once his eyelids allowed him to see his surroundings, he realized he was in fact lying on the middle of a street.

It was dark and raining. The moon was shinning above him as well as a couple of streetlights. He sat up and noticed a huge amount of rubble a couple of feet in front of him. He also saw a sign that read 'Under construction' which only meant one thing: Danny was in front of the building he destroyed with his Ghostly Wail.

_No way. I'm awake?_

Still in shock, he stood up and started heading towards the end of the street. He feared changing into Danny Phantom after all the things that happened in his head. He shivered at the thought.

Just as the tired boy was about to reach the corner, a huge vehicle made its way towards him. The frontal lights blinded Danny as it came closer. He recognized the metallic monster once the lights were turned off.

_The Fenton RV? Mom and dad must have detected the paranormal activity in this part of the town._

Danny just stood there. As soon as the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle came to a stop, two figures came out of it. One was a woman wearing a blue hazmat while the other was a male in an orange suit similar to his partner's.

The man, also known as Jack Fenton or Danny's father, ran in the direction of the boy, with a bazooka in his hands. "Freeze, ghost!" he said as he aimed his weapon at his own son.

The woman, who was in fact the man's wife and went by the name of Maddie Fenton, aimed a similar weapon and prepared to shoot the same target her husband had. "Don't dare to move!" she yelled at the now confused teenager.

Danny gulped and held his hands up defensively in front of him. "Mom, dad, it's me. Danny. You can lower your guns now," he said in a calm voice, trying not to provoke the two ghost hunters who had him as a locked target.

Both adults didn't seem to care. They kept their weapons up as their glare on the boy intensified. "We know," Maddie simply replied. The cold that emanated from her words froze the teenager.

_They know I'm their son and they still have guns pointing at me?_

"Then why do you want to shoot me?" he asked with fear tainting his tone.

"We know what you are," Jack answered. "We finally found out your big secret, Danny boy".

"_What?"_ the teenager exclaimed surprised.

Maddie walked around her child with her gun still pointed at him. "You're just a freak. An abomination," she said with rage on her expression.

Danny pleaded with his eyes. "Mom?"

His mother interrupted him from whatever he might have wanted to add. She shot him a disgusted glance. "I can't believe my own son is such a disgrace. Half a human. Half a ghost. A creature that doesn't belong in either world. An atrocity that has no place with the living nor the dead. If you were a full ghost, then at least you could have a chance to fit somewhere," she exclaimed as she continued walking around her son.

Tears began to roll down Danny's cheeks though the rain covered them. He didn't expect them to find out about his secret without him telling them. Much less had he expected them to react like this.

"I can explain-" he began.

This time, Jack cut him short. "Quiet, ghost! We're done with your lies and excuses".

Danny turned to face his father. "Dad, please-".

"It told you to be quiet!" Jack yelled once more. He gave his son a nasty look while the teenager sobbed now on his knees. "Don't worry. We will take you out of your misery once and for all," he finished as he aimed at the back of the boy's black-haired head.

_This can't be happening. How did they find out? Why are they acting like this? I have to be dreaming. This has to be another illusion._

_Phantom._

_Get a grip, Danny. Mom and dad would never say anything like that to me. I know I might freak them out if they ever discover my secret, but they're my parents. They love me and they will eventually accept me._

_Phantom._

_He's messing with my head. The two figures standing next to me are just images created by him to bring me down._

Trying to calm himself down, Danny stopped crying and slowly got up. He turned around to meet the two enraged adults. He stood there serenely and analyzed his parents' features.

_They didn't even have that much anger in them when they tried to hunt me as 'the ghost boy'. As Danny Phantom. Sure, they wanted to get rid of me, but their determination and fury was never this intense._

_Those are not my parents. They can't be them._

Before Danny could express his thoughts towards the two imaginary figures, a female voice screaming behind them caught the trio's attention.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton! Wait!"

"Don't hurt him!" someone else cried.

"Mom, dad, stop!" another voice yelled.

Danny and his 'parents' turned around to see three teenagers running towards them. They were Sam, Tucker, and Jazz (respectively).

As soon as Jazz reached them, she hugged her brother. "Danny! Thank God you're alright! I thought we were late!" she said between sobs.

Sam and Tucker embraced him as well. Maddie and Jack didn't lower their weapons while this happened. "We didn't want to believe that was really you," the Goth girl exclaimed.

The half-human teenager was confused as he let his sister and friends hug him.

_No. This can't be real. It can't be. Then, that would mean that mom and dad actually want to send me to whatever comes after the afterlife. No…_

"What happened?" is all that Danny could ask.

The four teenagers separated from their embrace and sheepishly faced the young half-ghost. "We were kinda talking out loud about your secret and your parents sort of found out about everything," Sam explained softly.

Danny's eyes went wide. He faced his parents with tears threatening to come out again. "Then, you really want to kill me?" he asked in shock.

Maddie and Jack continued glaring at the boy. "Of course, Danny! Think! How else did you expect us to react? You're not just any ghost. You're that ghost kid! The one who has spread so much fear and destruction in Amity Park!" Mrs. Fenton replied heatedly.

Danny raised his hands in exasperation. "But I have only been trying to protect this town ever since I got my powers! I have never tried to-"

"Stop lying! What about everything you have done in the past few weeks? All the innocent people who lost their homes? What about those who even died because of you? Do you have any way to explain all the mess you made?" Maddie questioned her son once more.

Danny was at a loss of words. He really didn't know what the heck she was talking about. He shot his friends a confused look, begging them to explain.

His dark-skinned friend spoke. "You really have no idea of what you did, do you?" he asked. Danny shook his head and Tucker sighed as he pulled out his PDA. "You have to see it for yourself".

He clicked a button and handed it to Danny so he could see several video clips. In each and every one of them, the infamous Danny Phantom was wreaking havoc all around Amity Park. He saw the scared faces of several students at Casper High as he blew up the whole school. He saw how he tried to kill his own teacher, Mr. Lancer. He gasped as he saw in the next scene how he succeeded to not only murder the bald educator, but also several people he knew well like Principal Ishiyama, Dash, Kwan, Star, Mikey, Nathan, Paulina, and a few other classmates. Another scene then showed how he also terminated the life of Valerie's father as he tried to protect her from the ghost boy.

_What have I done? Did I try to pretend none of that happened by trying to believe that I was actually under the control of a dream eater? Did I really do all of that?_

_No. That has to be Phantom again._

_Everything's so messed up. Something is definitely wrong with the both of us._

Still too shocked to speak, Danny once again fell to his knees and looked at a puddle that began to form in front of him. In it, he saw his reflection. But it was not really him. He now had white hair. A black and white jumpsuit replaced his clothes. And instead of his icy-blue eyes or even his glowing green ones, he had a crimson gaze.

_No. He really must have taken over me. That's why I don't remember anything._

If Danny had actually looked at his clothes or hands instead of the vague reflection in the puddle, he would've noticed that he was really in his human form staring at a ghostly image on the water.

But he didn't. He fell for the illusion created in the liquid mirror. He now believed he was in his ghost form even when he wasn't.

"Danny!" a cry of help called behind him. He turned around only to see a giant ghost snake holding his friends and his sister tightly in its grip.

"Jazz. Tucker. Sam. No!" He tried to run, but he slipped on the watery floor and fell with a splash.

Those two seconds he spent on his fall, were used to the advantage of the ghoulish creature to break the bones of its preys. The bodies of the three teenagers collapsed motionless on the wet asphalt.

Danny's eyes widened. "NO!"

He then heard two weapons warming up. "Did you see what your stupidity has caused, ghost boy?" Maddie asked. "Our daughter is dead because of that monster! She and the others are dead because of you! That snake was your fault as the rest has been," she finished with an enraged tone.

"But I never meant any of this to happen," Danny sobbed. He was soaking wet but the pain he felt didn't allow him to care.

"You have to be destroyed atom by atom," Jack now spoke.

"Don't I get to say good bye first?" the voice of none other than Valerie Gray came into the scene. She was wearing her normal clothing as she approached her former classmate, love interest, and friend. "I at least deserve to see him suffer after all the agony he caused me," she said bitterly.

"Valerie, please. You don't understand," Danny started to defend himself once again but the girl slapped him. The boy had to turn his head by the force of the slap. His cheek began to show a ruby shade of red on it.

"I've had enough of your lies. You only wanted to see me hurt, huh? Didn't you, ghost? Tell me, are you happy now? Are you glad that I have lost everything that mattered to me and that you were the only one responsible for that?" Valerie yelled furiously as she pushed the boy back to the ground when he began to stand up.

_This really can't be happening. My family, my friends, the town. It's just too much. This can't be real._

_And what if it isn't? I've been fooled before. What if none of this is real? What if Phantom's just tricking me? What if he's just using these sick mind games to get rid of me._

He looked at the limp bodies of his friends where the snake that disappeared had once been. He saw his parents' weapons. He saw the expression on Valerie's face. He looked at the demolished building not far behind him.

_Everything happened so fast. He knew exactly which cards to play and how to use them against me. He caught me off guard with all these events happening at once. He knew my worst fears. He knew how terrified I am of my parents' rejection, about putting my loved ones in danger, about hurting them with my secret, about becoming an evil being, a monster._

_He knows my worst fears because they are a part of him as well, just like he is a part of me. Or was._

_He could've killed me instead of doing all this charade. But maybe this is his way of telling me that he's not really convinced about getting rid of me. Maybe he's having second thoughts. Maybe there's still some trace of humanity left in him, just as there was a bit of his strength and determination left in me before he told me what was going on in this crazy and made-up world._

_I made a promise. I said I wouldn't give up on him and I'm not going to do it. There has to be a way to bring him out of the shadows. Maybe if I just taunt him enough to see what he's doing wrong…_

Danny ignored the three people who were surrounding him and stood up. Valerie wasn't strong enough this time to push him down. The trio screamed something at him but he just kept ignoring it. He walked away from them and headed to the fallen construction site, to the place where he 'woke up'.

"I am right here! Why don't you come to face me yourself? Why do you have to play these stupid mind games?", he yelled, not caring about the thunder that now traveled through the sky with its mighty roar.

As he finished saying this, a figure began to appear at the same time that the three ghost hunters faded from view. The newcomer chuckled while he floated a couple of feet above of the boy.

"I guess your half of our brain is not as stupid as I thought," Phantom said mockingly.

Danny gave him a smug smile though he was secretly sighing in relief. "And sadly, I guess your half of our brain is not as creative as I thought," he countered. "I mean, come on… a ghost snake? You kinda overdid it there. I have to give you credit, though. You almost made me believe that my own parents hated me. And the rain? That was classic. It even suited the mood," the human boy mocked back. Phantom only smirked at his counterpart's comments.

"You also have to admit I had a good point to make there," the ghost exclaimed as the landed in front of the boy.

"Oh, yeah? What was that? I practically missed it," Fenton replied.

"The point was to show you what your life will be like if you even think about going back to the real world. You'll have to face the rejection of your parents, your friends will be in constant peril, and it's all going to be your fault. You put their lives at risk the whole time". Phantom snorted, "some hero you turned out to be. You are destined to hurt the ones you love. You don't belong to the real world anymore".

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, because letting you go instead of me will really make things much better for everyone," he replied sarcastically.

Phantom eyed the boy curiously. "How do you propose we end this, then?" he asked with certain amusement.

"Well, it's simple. What if we both just go back to the real world?" Danny offered.

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "You are seriously delusional. Maybe I affected you worse than I thought".

Fenton dropped his challenging act and put his serious look on his face. "You know we belong as one being. One mind. One soul. We are a team, remember? We work things out together. We are one and the same. That's why I probably understand why you are so full of rage. Because I dismissed all of it. By choosing to believe a fantasy in which I had the perfect life, I forgot completely about you. I started sending you to oblivion, as you once put it. I didn't stop to consider that even if it was all a dream and you really didn't exist, you are still a part of me as I am a part of you".

The red-eyed ghost boy shifted uncomfortably on his feet but didn't say a word nor did he lower his gaze. He just listened.

Danny took a deep breath and continued. "By pushing you aside, I let you start to feel neglected. I don't blame you for not wanting me any more. For trying to get rid of me. But you have to know that I now understand that even before the accident, you were the voice that encouraged me to do my best. You were the one who helped me gain the necessary strength to confront all types of dangers. Even if it just consisted on running away from Jazz after I sneaked into her room to read her diary".

That's when something Danny hadn't expected, happened. Phantom chuckled lightly, but in a sincere way. He actually found the comment amusing enough to forget that he wanted to kill his human half.

Fenton used this opportunity to keep on going. He felt he almost had his ghost half out of his 'trance'.

"You're just as vulnerable as I am. Do you really think that life will be much better if you take full charge of our mind? That it will be somehow easier? The fears you showed me are also a part of you. You can't escape them. If you think you'll be free of our cumbersome secret identity when you become a full ghost, you're wrong. I guarantee you that you will be ashamed of showing yourself in public if my parents are around. Your parents.

"We're not two different people. We just had our personalities divided. But I know there's still some humanity in you as there is a ghostly side in me. And I know all this because your part of our personality, your part of our brain taught me that. Together, we are complete. If you get rid of me, you will be empty for the rest of your afterlife. You won't even have an ambition as a ghost. You'll be wandering without course, without a real unfinished business. You will be stuck. And it's going to be a horrible existence and you know it.

"When our future evil self was created, he needed of someone else to feel complete. He destroyed everything but, did it make things any better for him? Did he really feel anything close to success? Do you want to be THAT?"

Phantom narrowed his gaze and took a step closer to Danny. "You think you're better, then? That you know everything that happens on this side of our brain? You're a fool. You know nothing! You have no idea about anything!" he snapped back at the human boy.

Danny didn't even flinch. He just looked at Phantom sadly. "I'm not better than you. I know that if I beat you and go back to the real world on my own, I'll be missing a huge part of me. I'll be just as empty as you would be. And I don't know what it's like for you to stay hidden the whole time, to have to deal with everything else I can't handle. I really don't know what it's like. But I do know that we always manage to figure things out together. I've already told you: we're the same. That's how I know you don't really want to kill me. That's how I know that we can fix this mess and return to our own reality together".

The ghost boy stared into his eyes for a couple of seconds. Danny noticed that his eyes were now a paler shade of crimson. As if the rage had been slowly taken away. After those seconds, Phantom closed his eyes as he fell on his knees to cry. He held the boy's legs tightly as he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he said between gasps, ironically though, since ghosts don't really need to breathe.

Fenton kneeled to his side and hugged Phantom. He also began to cry with his ghost half. "No, I'm sorry. This was all my fault since the beginning. If I had never tried so stubbornly to live a normal life, none of this would've happened. YOU are part of my normal life. Not being a half dead hybrid almost killed me completely," he said between sobs.

Phantom stopped for a second and turned his now green gaze towards Fenton. "I know we are a complete goofball, but that was one of the cheesiest remarks your half of our brain has ever said," he said in a disbelieving tone.

Both teenagers laughed as the tears continued to roll down their cheeks. They hugged once again and both of them felt like they were phasing into one another. Both of them closed their eyes as the rain engulfed them in its darkness.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Danny yelled as he felt a burning sensation on his chest. He opened his eyes and met the nocturnal sky without a single cloud showing. He noticed he was once again lying on the floor so he sat up with a bolt.

He rubbed his eyes. He felt the numbing feeling in his whole body disappear. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed that it hadn't rained at all. He was at the same old spot on the middle of the street. The demolished building was still in front of him.

Then, he glanced to his right to meet a familiar figure who said the two words Danny had been longing to hear since the first day he opened his eyes from his imaginary coma.

"You're awake".

* * *

**So… what did you think? I hope you liked it :o) This one came out early because I really worked non-stop on this and I didn't want you to wait all week to read it. I felt kinda inspired so I seriously hope it keeps you interested enough to read the rest of the chapters.**

**There's still more to come. It's not over yet. I'll try to write the next one before March 18th.**

* * *

**Save _Danny Phantom _from cancellation! Check at the bottom of chapter 8 for ways to help.**


	13. Sweet Dreams

**Thank you so much for your comments. They truly are much appreciated so, thanks.**

**Anyway, to those who think that this is the last chapter I just wanted to let you know that this story is not over yet. It's close to the end? Yes. But aren't we forgetting a bit about a necessary showdown and some unsolved conflicts?**

**Disclaimer: _Danny Phantom _is not mine. I only own The Guardian of Dreams and Remy, the Dream Eater.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Sweet Dreams**

"You're awake," the cloaked figure told Danny, who still remained seated on the same old spot he occupied on the street.

"Morpheus?" the raven-haired boy exclaimed surprised just after the Guardian of Dreams addressed to him. "I thought you were going to leave me there alone," he continued.

Danny tried to stand up, but his muscles were still sore. The ghost by his side rested a hand on the teenager's shoulder soothingly. "There's no need to rush. You are not fully recovered yet and, considering Clockwork's warning, I'm sure you will request some answers before we can continue," Morpheus spoke with his soporific voice.

Noticing the warm smile on the Guardian's shady face, Danny nodded. "I won't rush or anything but, could we go somewhere else? This place gives me the creeps," the boy explained with a shudder.

The ghost released a dark and strange fog, which began to surround them both. Everything went black for an instant. As their vision (or at least Danny's) cleared, the teenager noticed they were now on the roof of some building. "Whoa, where are we?" he questioned.

"We're in front of your home, so you don't have to travel a long distance after I'm gone," Morpheus replied as he pointed his finger towards FentonWorks (which, indeed, was right across the street).

Danny took a minute to watch his own house. _I've been gone for a while. I wonder if they're worried about me. How long have I actually been unconscious anyway?_

The boy turned his icy-blue gaze in the Guardian's direction. "You were right before. I need some answers," he said. Replaying Morpheus' earlier comment, Danny realized he missed something and he narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What did you mean with Clockwork's warning?"

"As soon as you were captured by the Dream Eater, he began to feed from your energy and I was unable to break his spell. In order to help you and to capture him, I requested Clockwork's advice. I knew you had become the Master of Time's responsibility, so he would have a better idea of how to break into your psyche," Morpheus explained.

"What happened? What did he say?" Danny asked with curiosity when the ghost paused.

"Ironically, he told me to give you time, that you would find a way to see through the Dream Eater's farce. He also told me to give you only the necessary information as soon as your tormentor left you alone," Morpheus continued. "And he also warned me that you would have plenty of questions as soon as you woke up," he added with a smirk on his face.

However, Danny sort of pushed away the last comment as he noticed a more important matter in his thoughts. "If you're the Guardian of Dreams, there must have been something you could've done to help me instead of making me fight myself. But you just left me there," the boy exclaimed, raising his hands in exasperation.

_I have to calm down. Everything's over now. Even if he left me alone, we, err… I found a way out. Wow, that sure is weird. I mean, I have both Fenton's and Phantom's memories in my head. It really worked, then. I'm one again._

"There was. I could have reverted your mental schism, but seeing the inner conflicts both of your identities had, it was only up to you to embrace each other to become one. It would have been ineffective otherwise".

"So, what you're saying is that, I would've ended up with a mental breakdown if I hadn't accepted my two personalities?" Danny questioned once again.

Morpheus smiled at the boy. "Precisely. But, in the end, you acknowledged that those two parts of your psyche were actually one and the same. That's what you needed to keep yourself together, stable, and complete".

"I guess that makes sense," Danny replied softly. "What did you do with Remy? That was the Dream Eater's name, right?" the boy asked.

The Sandman frowned at this. "I'm afraid that he has obtained enough power to avoid my attacks and even to prevent me from tracking him. But, rest assured, young man. He is my responsibility and I won't rest until I capture him for good. You are free to return to your ordinary life. Well, ordinary to your own standards, that is," the ghost finished with a warm and reassuring smile.

_I'm free? It really is hard to believe that I was trapped for so long like that. Wait, but for how long?_

Just as the Guardian of Dreams was about to take off, Danny stopped him. "Wait. I still have to know something. How much time has passed since I fell into Remy's trap?" he asked intrigued.

Morpheus kept his grinning expression on his shadowed face. "It would amaze you how time tends to keep a measured pace in your dreams but, when it comes to reality, it occurs as fast as a blink of an eye".

Danny just blinked in confusion. "So… what does that mean?"

"I think the answer you are looking for is in the device that your wrist is wearing," the ghost replied in an amused tone.

'_Duh!_' Danny thought as he mentally kicked himself for being so oblivious to this small detail.

The fog suddenly returned but it now surrounded only the Guardian of Dreams. The ghost raised his hands to conjure the rest of his power. "Sweet dreams. And remember: don't meddle in someone else's job next time," he exclaimed before he faded from view between the shadows and the smoke.

The blue-eyed teenager stared at the place where the ghost had just been a second ago. His gaze held a mix of gratitude, confusion, and relief. His eyes then turned to see his watch, which was the device Morpheus was talking about before. What the little screen read surprised him.

_No way… it's just 10:50! Which means that I've been asleep for only ten minutes. I can't believe this. How did Remy manage to turn weeks into minutes? _

He then remembered another minor detail as he glanced at the building across the street. _Oh, no. I'm seriously late! I am SO grounded._

Hurriedly, the youngster stood up and realized there was only one way to get down to the street level: by flying.

_There are no stairs up here and jumping seems a bit extreme. I guess the only way to get off this roof is by using my ghost powers. Well, if my two halves have reconciled, this will be my chance to prove it._

"Here goes nothing," he voiced to no one in particular. "Going ghost!" Even though he was still feeling weak and tired, he used all his strength to summon his ghostly alter ego through his catchphrase. He knew he didn't have to exclaim those two words to make the change happen. He knew that a battle cry was pretty useless if there wasn't an impending battle nearby. He also knew that, according to his watch, he yelled the same phrase only an hour ago.

However, in his mind it felt like weeks and he missed the sense of security provided by those two simple words. They had become his trademark. They had always prepared him both mentally and physically for the transformation that would take place an instant after he spoke them.

Two rings of light circled his waist and traveled in opposite directions to convert the human teen into an ectoplasm-based creature. Within seconds, Danny Phantom appeared where Danny Fenton had been standing.

Checking for any anomaly in his current form, the white-haired hero looked at his gloved hands, his suit, and his boots. He ran his fingers through his hair to feel its consistency. He noticed a metallic antenna on the roof he was at and floated towards it to see his reflection. Even when it was not a perfect mirror, he could see his glowing green eyes clearly enough. The crimson he wore in his dreams was completely gone.

The improvised mirror confirmed he was the regular Danny Phantom. No more rage tainting his gaze and no apparent glitch could be seen in his image.

_I'm back. It's me. No more mind games, no more prisons, and no more scams. It really is me. Everything is just the way it's supposed to be. I'm normal again!_

Danny couldn't hold a chuckle after those last thoughts.

_Well, as normal as I can be, anyway._

With an amused expression on his face, he turned around and stood at the edge of the roof, staring at the building with the FentonWorks sign. Even though it wasn't necessary in his current state, he took a deep breath and tried to fly.

As he scarcely began to defy gravity, he noticed that his powers were still weak. He tried to steady himself to avoid a nasty fall and managed to make it to the ground, although it was a rough (yet short) flight.

_I guess I'm still weak after the last Ghostly Wail that drained my energy. Not to mention all the power Remy took. I have to take it easy for at least a couple of days, unless I want to end up as hybrid meat to any ghost who attacks me. And, knowing Skulker, he wouldn't miss that opportunity._

Changing back to his human mode, he stood in front of the main entrance to his house. Another deep breath entered his now functional lungs as his hand reached the knob. Slowly, he opened the door. As he had expected, his parents were standing behind the entrance with a scolding look on their faces.

"Daniel Fenton! Where on Earth have you been?" the boy's mother asked in an angered tone.

"You're in a lot of trouble, mister," his dad, Jack, then spoke.

Danny looked at the two figures standing in front of him. He began to feel nervous since he had no idea of how to explain his tardiness. In his silence, he also noticed that Jazz was looking at the scene from upstairs. The boy gulped as he searched for a logical answer. "Uh, I… err… was… attacked by a ghost?" he replied unsure.

Both Jack and Maddie raised their eyebrows and looked at each other before returning their gaze to their son. The woman in the blue hazmat suit kneeled in front of Danny and grabbed his hands. "Oh, sweetie, are you alright?" she asked in a tender voice.

"Where did he go, son? I'm going to destroy that fiend atom by atom. No one messes with a Fenton without a punishment!" Jack now bellowed.

To be honest, Danny didn't really expect his parents to believe him. But still, there he was: a shaken boy with several bruises and a cut on his forehead, which he only noticed when it began to bleed a couple of seconds ago. What more proof did they need to believe that a ghoul in a city overrun by ghosts had attacked their youngest child?

"I'm ok, but I feel weak," the boy replied as his parents motioned him to sit on the couch.

Maddie put her gloved hand on his forehead. It was more like some sort of habit since she couldn't really feel his warmth through the fabric than covered her hand. "What happened?" she asked Danny but then quickly turned to her husband, "Jack, please bring the first aid kit here".

The paunchy patriarch hurried to the bathroom to get what his wife requested. As soon as he returned, Danny narrated his story. The modified version, that is. "It's all very confusing, but I was on my way over here when a shadow caught my attention. It moved too fast and then I realized it was a ghost. He sort of hypnotized me and he wanted to drain my energy or something," he paused as he mentally decided whether or not to tell the next part of his version. Meanwhile, his mom was cleaning the cut on his forehead. Danny sighed and continued. "Anyway, I thought it was over for me when all of the sudden something hit the mind-controlling freak. I looked up and it was the ghost kid. He told me to run but then I tripped and hit my head. I was out cold for a few minutes. When I woke up, Danny Phantom had already defeated the ghost and then I ran as fast as I could to get here. And… that's what happened," the blue-eyed teen finished nervously.

Both Jack and Maddie glanced at each other with concerned looks when Danny mentioned the ghost kid's name. "Danny Phantom _helped_ you?" both of them asked in unison, showing disbelief as they spoke those four words.

A sheepish smile appeared on their son's face. "Uh, yeah. Well, maybe he really is a good guy who just seriously needs to get a publicist," he replied with a shrug, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

_Hey, I might as well use this kind of opportunities to change my parents' opinion towards my ghost half. I mean, sooner or later they're going to notice the similarities between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. I want them to be more accepting when they do._

Actually, the teenager feared their rejection after the scenario proposed by Phantom in their mental showdown.

The two adults remained silent as they sank deeper in thought. Maddie had already finished patching her son's cut with a small gauze. Jack, for once, kept a thoughtful expression on his face. After the brief silence that fell upon them, it was Jazz who interrupted the mood. "You know, maybe Danny just needs some rest. Why don't you dwell on the ghost boy's intentions in the morning?" she politely suggested as she walked down the stairs and stood next to them.

Maddie sighed. "She's right, Jack. We can contemplate the possibilities of a benevolent ghost in our sleep. Danny has school tomorrow, he should go to bed," she addressed to her husband.

The chubby man in the orange jumpsuit simply nodded in agreement and then turned to face Danny. "C'mon, son. We'll talk about this tomorrow," he said in a softer voice than usual. Apparently, he was just as tired as his son.

Danny softly sighed in relief and shot Jazz a thankful grin. She winked back and the four Fentons headed upstairs to their respective rooms.

* * *

The room was dark. The only light that came into it was provided by the shiny full moon that peeked through the window. A figure moved restlessly between the covers of the bed that adorned the four-walled space.

Danny couldn't sleep. He shifted uncomfortably on his mattress. It was just past midnight. The rest of the house was rather silent by now, though he could hear every now and then the muffled voices of his parents through the walls. Apparently, they were discussing their views on the ghost boy, but the youngest Fenton lost interest quickly as old arguments began to resurface.

_Unbelievable. Technically, I was only asleep for ten minutes even if it felt like it had been weeks. I'm tired but I'm feeling insomniac again. This really sucks. Why did that Dream Eater have to mess with my head? Why couldn't he have chosen Vlad if he was so interested in a half-ghost, half-human hybrid? Karma. That's what it is. Why else would all the bad things happen to me?_

_Well, I have to see the bright side. Ever since my two halves cleared things up, somehow I feel more… complete. As if a weight was taken off my shoulders. I have to admit I was still kinda tense when I half died._

_I'm still fifteen and I'm already half dead. That's a harsh way to put it. But I guess I'm not as stressed about it as I was before. Having my ghost side is really a part of me. While it doesn't define who I am, it is part of the whole package now._

_I hope mom and dad realize this once I tell them the truth. One of these days I have to talk to them and just… explain. Everything. They're my parents and I'm sure they'll understand. They have to, right? I guess only time can tell._

Pushing his thoughts aside, Danny stood up and started searching for his laptop. If he wasn't going to be able to sleep, he might as well update his ghost files with the new enemy he earned a couple of hours ago. Once the computer was on, he typed in his password, and then opened the aforementioned file and began to fill the newest addition to his database.

_Name: Remy. _

_Kind: Dream eater. _

_Abilities: Controls dreams and feeds from the energy provided by them. _

_Last seen: Elm Street, in front of the now demolished construction site. _

_Current location: Unknown. Probably hiding._

_Notes: extremely dangerous. He can make his victims believe that their dreams are real. Hopefully, soon to be under Morpheus' custody._

As he continued filling the page with a thorough description of the ghost, a window appeared at the bottom of the screen. Danny noticed it was an instant message from Valerie.

_Valerie? What is she doing up so late?_

He resized the window to read her message.

- Ghosth8r: Hey, what are you doing up so late?

- DFenton: I should be asking you the same thing

- Ghosth8r: I couldn't sleep. Had a nightmare. You?

- DFenton: Avoiding a possible nightmare.

- Ghosth8r: That bad?

- DFenton: You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

- Ghosth8r: Can't be worse than mine.

- DFenton: What was yours about?

- Ghosth8r: I don't think I should tell you.

- DFenton: Oh, c'mon. Try me.

- Ghosth8r: You promise not to laugh?

- DFenton: Not that you would know anyway…

- Ghosth8r: Ha, ha. Very funny Fenton.

- DFenton: C'mon… shoot, Grey.

- Ghosth8r: It's very silly, actually… I was some sort of ghost hunter, in my dream of course, and I was trying to capture Phantom… you've obviously heard about the ghost kid, right?

- DFenton: The one with white hair, green eyes, and a lame jumpsuit?

- Ghosth8r: Yeah

- DFenton: Never heard of him

- Ghosth8r: You're really in a funny mood tonight, aren't you?

- DFenton: Ok, I'll stop. So, what happened next?

- Ghosth8r: Well, I was supposed to be chasing him and this other creepy ghost shows up and grabs Phantom by the throat.

- DFenton: What did the ghost look like?

- Ghosth8r: It's hard to tell, he was wearing some kind of cloak and he didn't appear to have a body, like he was made of smoke or something

The blue eyes of the black-haired boy went wide at the description of the ghost since it was similar to the characteristics Remy had.

- Ghosth8r: Danny? You still there? I knew it… you're laughing, aren't you? At least wait 'til I tell you the rest of the dream

Danny was still frozen in front of the computer. He was brought back to reality when Valerie's last message appeared.

- DFenton: Sorry, Val. I just thought I heard a noise. What happened next?

- Ghosth8r: Well, this is the part I warned you about. I know it's impossible so don't laugh. Ok, then, the ghost shocked Phantom or something and suddenly he wasn't the ghost kid anymore. He was someone else.

- DFenton: Someone else?

- Ghosth8r: Ugh… please don't laugh.

Danny waited anxiously for her answer for a couple of seconds.

- Ghosth8r: Well, he turned into you. I know! I know! It's impossible. There's no way someone can be half alive and half dead at the same time, right? But it really freaked me out. And this guy, the shadow creep, he said 'this is just a warning, don't follow me' or something

Forget the boy's previous state. Danny was now paralyzed.

_No way, he was using Valerie? Oh, man. That means he could make her believe anything he wants. The same goes for my parents. Heck, all Amity Park could learn my secret while dreaming._

- DFenton: Did he say anything else?

- Ghosth8r: No, why? Do you think it really means something?

_Oh, crud. She can't suspect me. Who knows what she'll do. My parents might accept me because I'm their son, but… Valerie? She's a ghost hunter with a grudge! I highly doubt she'll give me the benefit of doubt. She's mostly shooting first and asking questions never._

- DFenton: Of course not. I was just curious. So… that was your dream?

- Ghosth8r: Hey! You too would freak out if you were enemies with that creep

Her message appeared rather quickly, which meant that she wrote it impulsively without checking what she was saying first.

- Ghosth8r: Just kidding, of course.

_Right. And my alter ego is actually the Box Ghost._

- DFenton: I have to go. See ya at school tomorrow?

- Ghosth8r: Sure. Sweet dreams.

- DFenton: Ha, ha.

Valerie logged off and Danny did the same. The confused boy decided to turn off his computer and went back to bed to contemplate his newest dilemma.

_What am I going to do? What if Morpheus can't stop him? This is definitely not good. So, I'm just supposed to sit here and do nothing while Remy feeds from other dreams as he exposes my secret? I really need to come up with a plan. Maybe if I tell Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about it tomorrow they'll have a better idea of what I should do._

_Right now, I really hope I can get some sleep. I need to recover all the energy that Remy drained from me not to mention that I have to be alert in case that freak tries to attack or something._

Danny sighed as he moved between his covers. This promised to be a long night before he could actually fall asleep. Part of him feared being unconscious again but another part reminded him how tired he actually was. A couple of minutes later, the second part of his brain won. He felt his exhausted body and mind preparing to drift into sleep. He finally closed his eyes and allowed the slumber to befall on him.

* * *

**As some of you might have read either in my profile, my messages, or Deviant Art, I can't be online as often as before, but I will try to do my best to update the next chapter by March 25th. Thank you for understanding and for following this story. I hope you liked this chapter.**

* * *

**Save the ghost boy from cancellation! Check at the bottom of chapter 8 for ways to help.**


	14. Reality Check

**Notes:**

Sorry... quick update... gotta finish a lot of homework (faints)...

Thanks for the comments, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Reality Check**

When you're trying to get some sleep after a long and grueling day, it can come to you easily. You drift into a land of fantasy and find yourself immediately at ease. However, if it turns out that one of the excruciating tasks of the day was to deal with a Dream Eater, it is difficult to keep yourself in that state of peaceful dreaming. You'll find yourself either having nightmares or waking up every half hour to make sure that you're back in the real world. Danny's case seemed to be the latter throughout the night.

The youngster knew that he needed and wanted to sleep, but it became a challenge as the morning came closer. A few hours later, he finally saw the sun through his window. With a tired sigh, he got up from his comfortable bed and decided to take a shower to start his day. After all, he was supposed to be at school in an hour.

He raised an eyebrow at this last realization as he let the water clean both his body and his worries. _Wow. I'm going to be at school on time? If that's not a sign that something's wrong with me, I don't know what is._

The warm liquid tranquilized him. He felt his mood improve as he pushed the events of last night aside. He even forgot how tired he really was.

When he finally got out of the shower and put his trademark clothes on, he realized that the house was quiet, and _that_ was definitely _not_ normal in the Fenton home.

Curious, Danny walked downstairs, trying not to make a sound. As he reached the final steps, the boy could hear his parents whispering in the kitchen. Jazz was probably still in her bedroom getting ready, so they must be talking about something important if they were keeping it in a low voice.

"-and you said you saw the same thing I did," Maddie's hushed words traveled to Danny's ears as he got closer. She paused briefly before continuing. "Jack, this can't be a coincidence. If what we saw turns out to be real, we have to-"

"Good morning, Danny," Jazz exclaimed cheerfully as she saw her brother near the kitchen's entrance, which startled the younger sibling and interrupted Maddie from whatever she was about to say.

_Darn it! Now I'll never know what they were talking about. Thanks for blowing my cover, Jazz. I knew I should've gone invisible…_

Both parents glanced in their kids' direction and greeted them nervously. "Oh, hi, Jazzipants," Jack said once his daughter walked to take her seat next to him, followed by Danny's slow steps. The man in the orange jumpsuit shifted his gaze uncomfortably when he saw his son. "Hey, uh, Dan". He then returned his attention to a gadget on the table.

The boy sensed some tension in the air as he stepped into the room, but shrugged it off. He figured he was being paranoid after what happened last night. "Hey mom, hey dad".

Maddie eyed him just as tautly and replied with an awkward smile. "Hi, kids, breakfast will be ready in a minute," she informed her children quickly and then began to search for a couple of things inside the fridge.

A sudden silence fell upon them. Jazz looked at Danny, raising an eyebrow as if asking him 'what's going on?'. He answered with a shrug and a confused expression.

Finally, the one who could be considered the only normal member of the family attempted to change the mood. "So, why are you up so early, Danny? Usually you're still sleeping at this hour," Jazz teased.

Danny understood that she was trying to lighten up the current atmosphere that surrounded the Fentons. "Hey, don't underestimate me. I still have time for a tardiness," he joked back.

Both siblings chuckled but their soft laughter drifted into silence once they saw the lack of attention they were getting from their parents. "Uh, anyway," Danny started, "do you think you could give me a ride today?" he asked, trying to clue her that he wanted to tell his sister something.

Jazz took the hint. "Sure," she replied. "We can leave as soon as we finish our breakfast". The girl turned around to face her mother to see how she was doing with their meal. She noticed that Maddie was staring blankly at the wall and the strips of bacon were now burning in the frying pan. The young redhead gasped. "Mom! The bacon!"

Maddie snapped out of her distracted trance and was startled as she realized how she had ruined her children's breakfast. She put out the small fire and left the pan on the sink. "Oh! I'm sorry, kids. Why don't you have some cereal instead?" the woman suggested just before she went to the lab to work. Jack followed her silently soon after.

The two teenagers exchanged glances once their parents had disappeared. "What was _that_ all about?" Jazz asked confused.

Danny frowned, not knowing the answer either. "Beats me. I've never seen them so jumpy or distracted before," he replied.

"Yeah. They usually get angry whenever I imply that you've been late to school," she said with a teasing smile.

"I would reply with a sarcastic remark if it weren't for the fact that you're right," her brother exclaimed with some concern.

Both of them remained silent as they ate a bowl of cereal each. They tried to finish as quickly as possible so they could have more time to talk on their way to school.

Once in the car, Jazz went straight to the point. "All right. There are no parents here who can overhear us and we still have some time left. Is there something you wanted to tell me?" she asked with curiosity.

Danny took a deep breath before he began to narrate his oneiric 'adventures'. _Well, at least now I know she really is my sister, right?_

* * *

The red convertible had the roof on to stop anyone from eavesdropping. Two people sat inside in silence while the vehicle was parked in Casper High's parking lot. Jazz turned her gaze to meet her brother's even though his eyes were focused on his red and white shoes. Danny had just finished telling her about last night's events.

"Are you sure this Guardian of Dreams you told me about is going to capture Remy?" she asked worriedly.

Danny sighed, unsure of what to think. "I don't know. He told me he would but, after what happened with Valerie, I have my doubts," he replied. The boy groaned as his head moved forward to hit the dashboard. "What am I supposed to do? I'm not strong enough to beat this guy and, to be honest, I don't think Morpheus is either. Remy took a lot of energy from me. For all I know, he could be trying to use that power to make my life a real nightmare, to stop me from getting in the way. In fact, I can almost guarantee that's what he's planning," he finished quite pessimistically, sitting straight once more to face his sister.

A hand belonging to the girl on the driver's seat reached his shoulder to show support. "Danny, don't stress yourself. You've been through worse and you came out victorious those times. Even if this is a hard battle to face, you still have Sam, Tucker, and me to help you. You won't be alone again. I promise," Jazz said soothingly to make her brother feel better. It seemed to work because Danny shot her a heartfelt smile.

"Thanks, Jazz. Though, this is kinda awkward," he said, changing his expression into a frown.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

Danny sighed softly. "Well, one of my dreams involved a conversation like this between you and me," he explained.

"Danny, Remy might have been messing with your head lately but you really are not alone anymore. You don't have to deal with him on your own. You don't even have to struggle by yourself with the aftermath of the mental mess he made. Whenever you want to talk, remember that I'm here to listen. I'm not going to lie to you: trusting reality again is going to be an ordeal, but I know you're smart enough to figure it out and we'll be here to help you with that," Jazz comforted her brother once more.

"You're right. I can't wait for this madness to be over". He opened the door and stepped outside. "Come on, sis, or I'm really going to be late," he added with a smirk.

The two siblings walked together to the halls of Casper High and they parted to their respective lockers. The boy was deep in thought as he strolled towards his.

_I thought everything would be over once I woke up, but it seems that it made matters even worse. What happened last night with Valerie and my own doubts today could be just the beginning of my problems._

_I have to keep my eyes and my mind open in case that freak decides to strike again. The people I love could be in danger if I don't do something to stop him._

_Yeah… I am going to do something about it. I'm not just going to sit this one out waiting for Morpheus to get rid of Remy. If Morph fails, I'm going to blame myself for not acting sooner._

Danny met his two best friends by his locker. They smiled at him. "Hey, Danny," Tucker greeted.

Sam's smile fell when she saw Danny's brooding expression. "Are you okay?"

"Actually, no. I have to tell you something," he began but was interrupted by the bell's ringing, signaling all the students that their classes were about to start. "It's a long story. I'll tell you during our lunch break".

* * *

The classes before lunch had been pretty much average. Even the events between them were part of the daily routine: certain blonde jock shoving a scrawny, blue-eyed teenager into his locker, a particular bald teacher being specially hard on the same boy who had been trapped by the bully, and there was also the usual friendly discussion between a Goth girl and a techno geek.

Danny was relieved to see all those antics back. Even if his shoulder was a bit sore due to Dash's bullying and he was having a hard time trying to stay awake during Mr. Lancer's class because of his tiredness, he was glad to have everything back to normal.

That's why his mood had improved by the time Sam and Tucker walked with him to the cafeteria to sit on their same old table. The half-human teenager leaned closer to his friends once they had taken their seats. He wanted to talk as quietly as possible, not wanting anyone to overhear the conversation. As he told them every little detail concerning his hallucination, Remy, Morpheus, the way his personality was split, and even the bit of information Valerie shared with him last night, his two companions stared at him in awe.

It took them a minute to recover from all that they had heard. Sam was the first to break the silence. "You had to fight yourself?" she asked in disbelief.

"C'mon, Sam. It's not like he hadn't done it before. Remember his jerky older self?" Tucker reminder her.

Danny's eyebrows narrowed in anger. "Hey! That was different. I wasn't evil last night. I was just… confused to say the least," he defended.

"You or your ghost half?" Sam asked with her eyebrow raised.

"We're the same, remember?" he replied annoyed.

Tucker and Sam exchanged glances. The girl with the violet gaze then turned her eyes to meet Danny's blue ones. "We know you're the same, but how are you coping with your mind split? I mean, yeah, you already went through a similar situation with the Ghost Catcher, but this case sounds like a whole different deal. Part of you wanted to _kill_ your other part. Aren't you afraid that your dream might come true?" she questioned with concern.

Danny gave her a stern look and let her words sink in before replying. "Guys, listen. I know you're worried and I'm seriously thankful. But that's never going to happen. When I fought myself last night, it was all because of an inner conflict I had for a long time that I didn't want to admit: that I was not completely convinced with this whole superhero gig. Now, I feel free. Like I've finally accepted myself. It's hard to explain the feeling, but I'm confident when I say that everything's all right with my two identities now," he reassured his friends.

They remained silent again for another minute. However, this time Tucker and Sam gave him supporting smiles instead of worried glances. "So, what are we going to do now? I mean, with the whole Dream Eater thing?" the dark-skinned boy asked Danny.

"I guess I'll have to patrol tonight in case he decides to disturb anyone's dreams. I'll try to sneak a pair of Specter Deflectors out of the lab for you. I don't want Remy attacking you while you're sleeping," he replied.

Sam rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll be careful".

"Yeah, we'll be so careful that you won't even recognize us," Tucker added jokingly.

Danny smiled once more and sighed. _I just hope I can regain my energy by the time I face with that freak. I don't want to be stressed about this kind of things._

_And now, how will I convince my parents to stay more alert than usual without giving too much information away? And Valerie… if he reached her once, nothing will stop him to do it again._

_I guess that means I'll have to stay awake all night to protect them just in case. It's not like I'm having luck whenever I want to remain asleep anyway. I keep waking up filled with paranoia. I just have to find a way to stay up all night without feeling tired and also while trying to regain all my energy._

_Yeah… nobody said that my half-life would be easy._

* * *

**Notes:**

So, there you go, another chapter done. I'll try to post the next one around April's 1st (and no: there'll be no pranks from my part, so don't worry).

Next Chapter:

_Night Terrors_

Featuring a patrolling night, an explanation to Jack and Maddie's jumpiness, and a certain showdown.

This is just the beginning of the end…so stay tuned.


	15. Night Terrors, Part 1

**Notes: **

_Hola_. I'm back to finally post a new chapter (laughs nervously). I want to sincerely apologize for not updating this story in a month. I really wanted to post this chapter sooner but I didn't have the time to do it.

Anyway, thank you so much for all your comments. I'm very grateful for all the kind words I've received so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The first part of the showdown is right after some explanations (I didn't want to jump into the fight just like that).

* * *

**Chapter 15: Night Terrors, Part 1**

"…And I didn't realize it was veggie meat until Sam started giggling- Stop laughing! It wasn't funny! You shouldn't fool a carnivore like that! I'm never letting you order my meal again when I'm not around."

Sam Manson and Danny Fenton couldn't contain their laughter as their friend, Tucker Foley, narrated the amusing anecdote at the Nasty Burger with his Goth friend. Danny hadn't been there with them last night when it happened because of his ghostly duties, so his friends decided to relate the events to the teenaged hero just to cheer him up. They had been walking towards Fenton Works as soon as they left school.

"Come on, Tucker. You were enjoying your burger before you realized it wasn't real meat," Sam argued.

The boy with the red beret scowled at the girl. "I promise that I'll find a way to invent some kind of meat that tastes and looks like vegetables, and _then _we'll see if you enjoy your food," he exclaimed vindictively, though Danny knew they were just having a playful fight.

_I missed feeling comfortable around them again. The way they acted in my mental scenario only made me feel uneasy about them. How Tucker glared at me, or how even Sam laughed carelessly at my problems… those weren't them._

_I know my real friends argue all the time, but those are only lighthearted arguments. Nothing serious. And even if we do mock each other, we never intend our jokes to hurt. That's just the unique way our friendship is shaped. Yeah, we're weird, but I would never trade them for the world._

Danny continued laughing at their small discussion as they reached the front door to his home. The trio walked into the house and headed to the kitchen to get some snacks.

The Fenton boy opened the fridge and grabbed some drinks for his two companions, who were still bickering. As he opened his can of soda, he turned to face them with an amused expression. "Guys, you can stop any time now," he said, making Sam and Tucker remain quiet as they listened to their friend. "I know you want to cheer me up and make me feel like I'm really awake- which I'm thankful for because it's working- but we have to make some plans for tonight".

Tucker smirked. "Glad to know that the FACT can still be helpful," he said smoothly.

Danny blinked in confusion. "The FACT?"

The amethyst and emerald gazes of Sam and Tucker met and then turned to glance at the clueless boy. "Fake-Arguing and Cheering Tactics," they both replied in unison, though the girl's monotonous tone contrasted her friend's proud one.

"I'm keen on the tactics, not on the name," Sam added as she rolled her eyes.

"Why do I always take the blame for all the lame ideas?" Tucker protested.

"Oh, so _now_ you agree that the name was lame?" the girl countered.

Danny sighed and shook his head. "Just when I thought that 'P.A.R.T.Y.' was the worst they could come up with," he muttered to himself with a chuckle. The boy then turned to walk towards the door that led to the basement. "Anyway, we should go down to the lab to work on our plan and see what we can do to protect my- mom! Dad!" he exclaimed the last two words in a surprised tone once he opened the door to the lab, only to almost collide with his parents.

Maddie and Jack walked into the kitchen after their own son startled them. "Danny," Mrs. Fenton yelped, clutching her heart. "You scared us! We didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, son. Aren't you usually out with your friends at this time of the day?" Jack now questioned.

Though Danny wasn't facing his friends, he could tell from the corner of his eye that they were as puzzled as he was by his parents' jumpiness. "We, uh, decided to do our homework early. We're going to use the computer in the lab, if you don't mind," the boy explained as he began to move towards the basement again, motioning his friends to follow him as well.

However, before he could even take a step near the stairs, Jack blocked his path. "Actually, son, we do mind. From now on, only your mother and I can go to the lab," the portly man replied.

Danny and his friends were taken aback by his response. "What? Why?" the blue-eyed teenager inquired.

Jack looked at his wife and then at the teenagers. "Well, it's just that… we were… the thing is…" he began to stammer.

Maddie rested a hand on his shoulder to stop him from talking and finished whatever Jack was trying to say. "We just don't think it's safe, that's all" she said nervously, her tone sounding slightly higher than usual.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "But we've been there many times, why would it be more dangerous now than it was before?" he questioned.

_Something here isn't right. Maybe it has something to do with whatever they were talking about this morning._

"Yeah, Mrs. Fenton. We haven't even seen any ghosts in the lab whenever we're there," Sam added while gesturing with her hands, obviously lying.

The woman in the blue hazmat suit massaged her temples, showing a sudden change in her mood from jumpy to annoyed. "Just do as we say, all right?" she replied. As soon as she finished saying that, Jack and Maddie walked out of the kitchen and towards the living room, leaving three perplexed teenagers behind.

"What was _that_ all about?" Tucker exclaimed as soon as the two adults were out of sight.

Danny frowned. "I really don't know, but they were acting strange in the morning, too."

"Do you think Remy has anything to do with it?" Sam asked.

The boy shrugged. "Maybe. We should go to my room to figure this out. We'll have to snatch those Specter Deflectors later". And with that, they hurried to Danny's room upstairs, walking past the inquisitive looks the adults were giving them for no apparent reason.

* * *

The atmosphere that reigned in the blue bedroom was that of silence and rumination. At least ten minutes had passed since any of the brooding teenagers spoke. 

Sam was lying on the floor with her chin against the carpet. Tucker sat on a chair, rocking back and forth on the back legs of his seat. Danny was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. Their gazes were staring blankly at the different objects that surrounded the bedroom. There was no doubt about it: they had no idea of what they were going to do to defeat the now powerful Dream Eater.

Danny had relayed his theories, notes, and anecdotes to his two companions for the past hour. The half-ghost knew the odds were against him, so he wanted (and needed) to come up with a foolproof strategy to stop Remy from whatever he was up to next.

As they were about to enter the eleventh minute of silence, Tucker suddenly moved his chair forward and sat up straight, startling his friends slightly with what could only be an idea. "Ok, so it's risky to get near him because he might send you to dreamland again, right? How about we use a cyborg to attack him?" the dark-skinned boy shared enthusiastically.

"A cyborg?" Sam and Danny asked in unison, unconvinced by the idea.

After a brief pause, the tech geek threw up his hands in surrender and resumed his former position on his improvised rocking chair. "That's it. I'm all out of ideas. Besides, they say even cyborgs dream of electric sheep".

Sam sighed tiredly as she stood up. "It's androids, Tucker. Not cyborgs," the girl corrected.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked with his eyebrow raised.

"I just needed to stretch my legs, that's all," she replied with a yawn.

Danny groaned as he closed his eyes and hit his head against the wall. "Why did he have to take that much energy from me? What am I supposed to do with all that lack of power in me right now?" he complained.

The Goth girl, who was already standing, walked towards her friend and sat next to him. "Danny, why don't you just take a break and let Morpheus handle this like he said he would?" she questioned.

"I really don't think he'll be able to take care of this alone," the boy confessed.

This time, Tucker replied. "Dude, he's the Guardian of Dreams. He can't be more suited for the job than that. Sam has a point: why don't you use the next couple of days to recover while the Dream Eater is being wasted by the Sandman?"

Danny shook his head. "I can't," he replied simply. Once he saw the questioning glances his friends were giving him, he continued his explanation. "I think I kinda figured it out: Remy's only after me. He's waiting for the opportune moment to try to get me again. At least that's what I'm guessing. Otherwise, why would he send those dreams to Valerie? I'm fearing he might have even shown something to my parents during their sleep. I'm clearly his target and I can't let my guard down or let him get more powerful. He has to be stopped now unless I want to end up in a real coma next time."

A brief silence reigned the room once again. "Do you really think your parents saw you transform like Valerie did?" Tucker asked after a couple of seconds.

Sam rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, it would explain their jumpiness, right?"

"Yeah, but somehow I don't think that's what they saw, assuming they even saw anything at all. I mean… they would've been trying to test their gadgets on me or something to see if what they dreamed was real. Or at least they would try to confront me about it," Danny answered. He stood up and walked towards his window, resting his arm against it and sighing once again. "I don't know. It's all just a bunch of theories and we don't have real proof."

Before anyone could say anything, there was a knock on the door. "_Danny? It's me. Jazz,"_ the voice outside the room announced.

The Fenton boy walked towards the door to unlock it and opened it to the newcomer. "Hey, Jazz. Came here for the Team Phantom meeting?" Danny asked as his redheaded sister walked into the room holding several books, greeting Sam and Tucker with a smile. Once Danny had closed and locked the door again, the two siblings sat on the bed.

"Sorry for being late. I had to pick some books at the library and I lost track of time," Jazz explained as she gave Danny her bibliographical material.

Her brother raised an eyebrow as he scanned through the titles that were recently handed to him. "_The Dream Dictionary_?_ The Scientific Study of Dreams_?_ Sleep for Dimwits_?" Danny read out loud and stopped when he saw the next title. "_The Dream Eater?_ You actually brought this book? It's a bedtime story!"

Jazz took the book from his hands. "Danny, if you haven't noticed, some fictional characters are based on real people or, in Remy's case, on real ghosts. We have to be open to any bit of information we can get, because I seriously doubt we're going to beat this fiend just by guessing his weakness," she stated firmly, handing the book back to him.

"All right, all right. But I still don't think we're going to find anything useful about Remy by reading these," Danny said. He then picked up one of the other titles he read out loud to study it. Each of the other teenagers picked one as well and their research began.

* * *

"Have you found anything yet?" Tucker asked Sam as she flipped through the pages of the book in her hands. 

They had been reading most of the afternoon and the tech geek had even been surfing the internet for more information.

"I think I found something," the Goth replied.

"What book are you reading?" Danny asked as he looked up from his material.

Sam raised the object in her hands to allow her friends to see the title, which was '_Sleep for Dimwits'_. "It mentions a stage of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement."

"Rapid Eye Movement? What's that?" the blue-eyed boy asked.

"It's also called R.E.M.," Sam explained.

"Like the band?" Tucker now questioned.

The Goth girl nodded. "Yes, like the band. But the kind of R.E.M. we're talking about is related to dreams. I don't know, but so far it looks like it might be helpful," she added with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Danny rubbed his chin as his thoughts deepened. "R-E-M… R-E-M… why does that sound so familiar?" he asked no one in particular. "R-E-M. REM." The boy paused and slapped his forehead. "REM! Remy! What if the rapid eye movement thing is somehow related to his powers?"

Jazz smirked triumphantly. "_'I don't think we're going to find anything useful by reading these books',"_ the girl mocked her brother with a childish tone, making Sam and Tucker laugh.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Ok, I was wrong, you were right. Can we let it die now?" he exclaimed in an attempt to refrain the others from making fun of him, but the trio snickered anyway. "So, what does it say about REM?"

Tucker, Danny and Jazz looked expectantly at Sam. "It says here: '_Sleep in human beings is composed of two states called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Sleepers spend most of the night in non-REM sleep._

_"During REM sleep, the brain is extremely active, and the brain waves are similar to those of an individual who is awake. The eyes move rapidly in this phase, and the body is paralyzed while dreaming happens. _

_"REM sleep occurs about every 90 minutes and lasts from 5 to 30 minutes. Most dreams occur during this stage, and if a sleeper is awakened from it, that person is more likely to remember the content of a dream._' Do you want me to keep reading?" the girl asked to her small audience.

Danny walked to where his friend was and took the book from her hands. "Actually, I think this gives us an idea of what kind of power Remy has: I thought I was awake, I didn't move from where I was, it only lasted about 10 minutes, and I pretty much remember everything that happened. This describes it. All of it," the boy concluded in a happier tone.

"So, if what Sam read applies to the Dream Eater's powers, he can only keep you unconscious for half an hour, right?" Tucker inquired.

"And he didn't go after you again that night because he needed to wait 90 minutes to send you back into your delusional world," Jazz added.

"And it says here that it applies to humans. Maybe your ghost half was aware of the whole situation because the REM didn't affect him; it only acted on your human side," Sam chimed in as she continued reading the document.

A smirk appeared on Danny's features as he realized something else. "You know, he was only able to get me when I changed back to my human form after using my Ghostly Wail. If he can't affect ghosts, maybe all I have to do is remain in my ghost mode whenever I see him again".

Jazz frowned. "Actually, I don't think that will work. At least not for long," she said, causing her brother's smile to fall. "You said it yourself: both sides are not independent from each other, which means that even though Remy might have a hard time trying to knock you out while being Phantom, he would still be able to use his powers on you eventually through your flaw as a half-human hybrid".

"It's still worth a shot, right?" Tucker said, trying to sound positive about it.

Danny looked at the three people in the room with him. His friends and sister stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to make a decision with everything they discovered so far. The boy smiled, thankful for all the help and support they had given him. "You know what? It still is. And I think I know just the thing to make it work," he said with a confident expression.

* * *

The night was calm. That was the simplest yet most accurate way to describe it. The midnight breeze, the dormant town, the resting citizens, and everything else that belonged to this territory called Amity Park was at ease. 

Even the local hero was comfortably sleeping in his cozy bed. Or at least that's what it looked like to his newfound enemy. Remy, the Dream Eater, had crawled among the shadows to pay an all but friendly visit to his recent source of energy.

He saw the boy cuddled under his bed sheets, covering him up to his head. As soon as Remy approached, Danny shivered and pulled his covers even closer around him. The silent fiend that was lurking in the room smiled at the sight of such a weak and defenseless kid. He held his hands above the sleeper to start breaking into his dreams and absorb more energy. The red glow that surrounded his palms began to surround his target as well but, within seconds, it disappeared.

Remy frowned in confusion. Sure enough, he couldn't even find the entrance to Danny's mind. As he floated closer to his prey, he noticed a faint jade glow emanating from beneath the covers. The Dream Eater reacted too late as a blast of green ectoplasm hit him and sent him flying across the room.

As he crashed into the wall and slid to the floor, he noticed that a figure was now floating above the bed of the boy he was trying to weaken. He saw to his surprise a very enraged Danny Phantom.

"Not this time, Rem," the boy said as he launched towards his enemy and grabbed him by his cloak. "You definitely messed with the wrong ghost". Danny's free hand curled into a fist and prepared to strike his opponent, but Remy managed to get out of his captor's grasp. He then flew and phased through the roof, followed shortly by the ghost boy.

Both specters floated in front of each other once they were outside, waiting for the other to move. The Dream Eater stared with his glowing ruby eyes into Danny's green ones, studying the hero carefully. The fiend smirked but didn't say a word. He was as silent as the night before.

"What, you don't want to talk? That's strange. You seemed quite chatty when you were controlling my dreams last night," Danny said, taunting Remy. But no word came from his enemy.

Instead of replying, the cloaked figure prepared a red ball of energy in his hands and quickly released it towards the white-haired teenager, surprising the hybrid by the sudden attack.

Danny didn't dodge in time so he crashed into the Emergency Op-Center, giving Remy the opportunity to shoot another beam that, luckily for the ghost boy, went astray and only shattered a window.

"Jeez, if you were that eager to skip the witty banter and jump straight to the part where you get your butt kicked, at least you could've asked nicely," Danny exclaimed as he flew up in the sky, trying to counter Remy's attacks with his own beams and shields. It wasn't easy for the teenaged hero. After all, the Dream Eater was powerful enough before he even absorbed the boy's energy.

Another red blast almost hit Danny, but he managed to avoid it by momentarily splitting himself in half. Unfortunately, by doing so, he wasted a precious second trying to become whole again, which gave Remy the chance he needed to approach him and try his sleep-inducing attack once more.

This time, the Dream Eater held Danny's head tightly with his glowing hands. "Aghhhhhhhhhh!" the Phantom kid yelled in pain as he felt something close to a lightning attempting to fry his brain.

However, even if the attack was powerful enough to hurt the ghost boy, Remy had to release his victim and back off when he realized something apparently impossible: he really couldn't get into Danny Phantom's mind.

He had done it before. He knew he just had to find a path through the kid's human half to get to the core of the phantom's ectoplasm to absorb its energy. But the path was blocked. In fact, it wasn't even there at all. His humanity was simply gone.

Holding a hand against his head, Danny shook away the feeling left by Remy's spell. He then turned to face the now confused foe with a triumphant smile. "Sorry, but my human half is off limits," he said, recovering from the pain that throbbed in his skull.

Phantom knew that his enemy wanted to ask how it happened. But he also knew that the other was not talkative at all. That's when he realized why. "You can only communicate through dreams, don't you?" he asked curiously, changing the original subject.

With the same smug smile that sent chills to Danny's spine, Remy clapped at the boy's _brilliant_ discovery. Dream eaters can really be sarcastic at times…

"All right. Enough with this chit chat," Danny said as he flew at great speed to punch Remy in the face. His enemy recovered easily and caught the next blow the hybrid had sent him.

The boy created a shield around him that deflected his opponent's oncoming attack and caused him to be sent flying backwards.

As they continued trading blows, Danny heard a voice coming from the Fenton Phones he was wearing. "_Phantom One, this is Tech One. We, uh, have a bit of a problem,_" Tucker's voice said.

The ghost boy dodged a couple of blasts and tried to keep some distance from Remy to attend the call. "What is it, Tech One?" he asked.

_"Clueless One is unconscious and we can't wake him up. I think you took part of his energy when you split,"_ the tech geek responded worriedly.

"What? How could you let him lose consciousness? I only asked the three of you to do a single thing!" the ghost kid yelled at the phone. As Remy flew towards his victim again, he managed to hear the last two sentences, making him more curious about what the boy was hiding.

"_Jeez, I guess the tactful side of your personality was left behind in your human half,"_ Tucker replied sardonically.

Danny continued fighting, ignoring Tucker's comments completely. As he was about to hit Remy, the Dream Eater vanished in a screen of smoke, leaving a dumbfounded hero behind. "What? Where did he…"

"_What do we do?"_

Looking around, the ghost boy couldn't see nor sense his enemy. That wasn't a good sign for the young hybrid and he began to worry. "Tech One, I'm afraid you're going to have to secure the room. Remy's gone. I'm going to the base. Try to bring Fenton back to consciousness before I get there," Phantom said as he began to fly away from FentonWorks.

* * *

**Notes:**

I had to make a decision and here it is:

In my profile, I said the story would end in chapter 16 (called 'Waking Up'). However, chapter 15 was getting too long (longer than it already is), so I decided to split it in two parts. Now, the story will end in ch. 17 (which will still be called 'Waking Up') and the rest of the fight will be in Ch. 16.

So, what do you think? (Laughs nervously)

Oh! Small reference:

_"Besides, they say even cyborgs dream of electric sheep". / __"It's androids, Tucker. Not cyborgs."_

That tidbit refers to the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Phillip K. Dick.

**Next update:**

_Chapter 16: Night Terrors, Part 2 _– in which the fight continues. (Coming soon. No specific date this time)


	16. Night Terrors, Part 2

**Notes:**

Ok, this is finally the edited version of this chapter. I hope it's better than before. Not much change in the plot but I did fix some of the writing. Oh, and the ending is a bit more vague.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Night Terrors, Part 2**

From what the common beholder could perceive, the Manson manor was very still on that late Friday night. But it was not the kind of nocturnal calm that every house seems to have when its residents are asleep. Even if this particular estate seemed to be empty, the atmosphere that emanated from it was rather tense. As if it were hiding someone or something in its interior. As if those who lurked within its shadows were anticipating a disturbance.

Truth be told, Pam and Jeremy Manson were out on a cruise for at least two weeks. Even Ida Manson had gone to a bowling tournament in Michigan, which impressed everyone except her own family, who were now used to the elder woman's youthful activities. That left only one member of the family remaining: the fourteen-year-old Samantha Manson, a Goth girl who preferred at all costs to be called Sam.

Her parents would never allow her to be on her own. That's why they had hired the best staff to serve and take care of their precious, though rebellious, daughter. Sam, of course, knew how to handle said staff so that she could be alone. That's why her vast and labyrinthine house became the perfect hideout for Team Phantom, especially if they used the underground home-theater as their base.

Plus, they didn't want to wake up Jack and Maddie. The plan, at least originally, was to lure the dream eater away from FentonWorks. So far it seemed to be working though not exactly the way they had hoped.

Jazz Fenton had been on the roof checking for any signs of either Phantom or Remy. She knew her brother wouldn't be happy to see her taking such a risk even if she had her Specter Deflector on, but they needed to guard each corner of the house, or at least as much as possible. That's why Danny and Tucker had to stay in the small cinema, and Sam was assigned to check the second floor; that way, she could be within reach of both the roof and her basement.

Not long after the human Danny had fallen unconscious, his sister spotted his ghost half from her lookout. As the girl had predicted, Phantom didn't seem too thrilled to see her there. "Jazz, what are you doing outside?" the white-haired boy asked with a hint of anger and concern. "Didn't you hear what I said? Remy's on the loose!"

"I was just trying to keep everyone alert in case something happened out here," she answered, grinning a bit guiltily.

Phantom sighed exasperated. "Fine. Did Tucker activate the Ghost Shield around the room?"

Jazz nodded. "We should go downstairs now that you're here. Come on," she said, grabbing the ghost boy's wrist. The redhead's belt began to glow and, in less than a second, Phantom felt an electrical shock.

"Ow!" the ghost painfully exclaimed as he pulled his hand away from Jazz. He glared at her as she gave him another sheepish grin. "Well, at least the Specter Deflector is working," he exclaimed dryly, rubbing his wrist.

Turning off the aforementioned device, the newest member of Team Phantom allowed the ghostly version of her brother to take her intangibly into the house.

As soon as they reached the underground room, Sam, who had joined her two best friends by then, deactivated the Ghost Shield to let Phantom in. As soon as they were all gathered, they turned the shield back on.

"What happened?" the ghost boy asked once he saw his unconscious counterpart.

"We were just talking and he suddenly collapsed," Tucker explained.

"Did he say anything before that?" Phantom questioned as he reached the dormant boy.

His dark-skinned friend shrugged. "Nothing relevant. He was, you know, goofing around about how weird it would be if this were also a dream. Then, he moved over there to get some popcorn and, all of the sudden, he fainted."

"There's something I don't really get," Sam chimed in. "The last time you went through the Ghost Catcher, you were acting all super while your human part was a complete goofball. But, now… I don't know. It's just… not the same," she said, not sure how to explain. "I mean… you're more like a short-tempered vigilante and the other Danny is not as cheery or fun like last time. In fact, he looked so fatigued that he just collapsed! The split must have been different. Maybe that has something to do with why he's unconscious."

The ghost boy raised an eyebrow, which Jazz took as a sign of confusion, so she decided to provide a further explanation. "My guess is that the way your personality is divided depends on how you're feeling during the split," his sibling spoke. "As a whole, you were torn between getting rid of Remy and getting a much needed rest. Maybe all the energy you had when you were complete moved to your ghost side. After all, you're the one who needs to fight the dream eater and sleeping is pointless in your case," she finished.

Tucker blinked. "Hey, that's what I said!" he exclaimed, though no one was really paying attention to him.

"So, we should simply let him sleep?" Phantom inquired, confirming that he ignored Tuck's comment.

"In theory," Jazz replied with a shrug. "I don't see a problem with it, unless Remy decides to mess with his dreams again."

"Actually, I think he might suspect what we did," the ghost kid announced. "He disappeared right after Tucker called me."

"Do you think he's on his way over here?" Sam worriedly asked.

"Well, my parents' room is secured with a Ghost Shield, and he won't be able to find Jazz or Tucker in their rooms, so that leaves your place," Phantom answered, addressing to the Goth girl. "He knows that my family and friends are my weakness, and he won't hesitate in using any of you to get to me," he finished plainly.

A brief silence reigned once again among the ones present. "So…" Tucker began, "shouldn't Remy be here already?"

As soon as he finished saying this, the lights were turned off abruptly, leaving the room with only the jade glow emanating from the ghost shield.

"You had to talk, didn't you?" Sam's voice exclaimed dryly.

Phantom's right hand then began to illuminate the room with an ectoplasmic light. "All right, stay together. If Remy manages to break into the ghost shield, I don't want to take any chances with you," he ordered the others as he moved towards the walls of the shield to check for any sign of his enemy.

As he approached the side of the room where the stairs were located, he noticed a shadow approaching. Brilliant red eyes stared smugly at the ghost boy. A cocky smile appeared on Remy's features when he saw the human version of his prey.

"Tucker, turn off the Ghost Shield," Phantom commanded through clenched teeth, never taking his gaze off his rival.

"But Danny-"

"Just open an entrance and close it as soon as I'm out!" the short-tempered specter exclaimed, interrupting his friend.

Tucker, Sam, and Jazz exchanged glances. The techno geek hesitated for a moment before pulling out his PDA. He clicked a couple of commands into his electronic device and, sure enough, part of the shield began to disappear. Phantom held two glowing fists as he advanced towards Remy.

Meanwhile, Tucker turned the whole shield back on. "Dude, be careful," the boy exclaimed as their protecting barrier was almost closed.

Danny glared fiercely at the dream eater. _He knows my strategy. He won't hold back this time. I mean... both halves of me are now useless to him unless we're together, right? If he's done with his games, fine with me. Let's just cut the crap._

With his right hand already prepared to release a blast, Phantom launched quickly towards Remy, but the foe turned into smoke and used the minuscule entrance left to reappear inside the Ghost Shield, right in front of the four human teenagers.

The four conscious members of Team Phantom gasped in surprise. "No!" the ghostly version of Danny yelled, charging at the green dome protecting his friends, but to no avail.

_Of _course_ he would do something like that. I fell right into his trap! How could I be so stupid?_

"Tucker! Turn off the Ghost Shield!" Phantom yelled frantically, shooting blasts at the ectoplasmic barrier.

But Tucker was as paralyzed as the others since Phantom was no longer lighting the interior of the dome. He trembled when he saw the ruby eyes of Remy as he floated closer to him. The dream eater held a hand in front of his newest target, making it glow red as he prepared his sleeping spell. However, as he advanced on the boy, he noticed that his power began to malfunction. Tucker snapped out of his shock and realized that his belt was emanating a green radiance.

"Tucker!" Phantom yelled once again, finally getting his friend's attention.

"Oh, right!" the tech replied as he began to type into his digital assistant, which luckily had its own light.

While this happened, Sam and Jazz were trying to carry the quiescent body of Danny Fenton. Remy, who was briefly stunned by his glitch, returned his attention to the quartet of teenagers in front of him and fired a red beam at Tucker's hands.

"Leave them alone!" Phantom growled as he punched with his gleaming fists against the shield.

Jazz then pulled out an ecto-gun and managed to hit the dream eater, making him fall back a couple of feet. "Dream on, Remy," the girl snapped as she took a more aggressive stance to protect her brother and Sam.

"Jazz, this is no time to improve your witty banter! Just shoot him!" Phantom yelled in exasperation.

The girl stopped herself from rolling her eyes and shoot towards the mind-twisting fiend. This time, though, Remy turned into fog once again and reappeared behind the trio.

In the meantime, Tucker used the opportunity to reach his second PDA (courtesy of his wealthy best friend, Sam). "You can never be too careful," he spoke triumphantly to himself. He clicked the necessary commands and, within seconds, the ghost shield vanished. The tech gave a thumbs-up at Phantom, even though he wasn't sure if his ghost friend could see him clearly. The spectral hero showed a sly smile before he turned invisible to surprise his enemy.

Remy was preparing a beam to attack Jazz, ignoring completely the fact that his original opponent wasn't pounding on the shield anymore. Just as he was about to strike, an unseen force grabbed him by the front of his cloak, making him float intangibly out of the house. Once the invisible attacker and the dream eater were on the street level, Remy felt himself being thrown to the ground, colliding with the asphalt as he fell.

While the shadow-like villain recovered, he noticed that Phantom had just released a blast with his two gloved hands, giving Remy no time to dodge the ball of ectoplasmic energy.

A series of rays hit the fallen enemy, one after another. Phantom's determination was even fiercer than before. "Don't you ever dare to come near my friends, my family, or me, again!" the angered teenage ghost exclaimed, accentuating each word with a blast, which kept his enemy pinned against the frontal wall of the Manson Manor.

Unfortunately for the young hero, before he could claim his victory over Remy, a green ball of goo struck him and sent him flying several feet away. Danny shook his head and tried to stand up, noticing now a huge vehicle in front of him.

_Oh, crud. Not them! They probably heard the noise during the fight and noticed that Jazz and I weren't in our rooms. _

_I can already guess who's going to take the blame…_

"Leave that house alone, Phantom!" the voice of Maddie Fenton commanded as she got out of the RV her husband was driving. She held her favorite bazooka and pointed it at the ghost boy. Jack joined her wife mere instants later.

As Danny finally stood up, he tried to find Remy with his gaze, but the dream eater was nowhere to be seen. He sighed exasperated. "You let him get away!" he exclaimed at the ghost-hunting couple.

"You're not getting out of this one!" Jack bellowed.

"Not after what you have done to our boy!" Maddie added.

The confused Phantom just arched an eyebrow. "What? What are you talking about?" he asked. He then remembered the excuse he gave the night before. "If you're talking about what happened yesterday, I saved your son's life. Didn't he tell you?"

"You know well what we meant," his mother said through gritted teeth. "You've been trying to put our son against us!"

"_What?"_ the ghost boy exclaimed loudly.

Jack was about to say something else, perhaps an explanation, but he suddenly fell to the ground unconscious. The sound that came from his fall was loud, and Maddie turned right away to see what had happened to her beloved husband.

"Jack? Are you all right? Jack! Answer me!" the woman pleaded. When she noticed that the paunchy hunter was still breathing, she turned to glare fiercely at Phantom. "What have you done to my husband?" she demanded, pointing her weapon at the young ghost once more.

"I didn't do anything!" he defended, not moving from where he was standing. "Listen… there's another ghost, a dream eater. His name is Remy. He's the one who attacked your son last night and he's probably the one who put your husband to sleep."

"Liar!" Maddie yelled as she fired her bazooka, but Phantom flew upwards to dodge the attack.

"You have to believe me! Check your radar! Remy must've gone invisible, but I bet he's right there next to you!"

Hesitating for a moment, the huntress retrieved a ghost tracker from her utility belt and checked it. Sure enough, it had two paranormal readings: one flying several feet away from her and another one right behind her. Gasping in surprise, she turned around and fired towards the place where the ghost was detected. By doing so, Remy regained visibility and collided against the front of the Fenton RV.

Danny used the opportunity to pick his enemy up and flew him to the roof of Sam's house, leaving an enraged Maddie Fenton behind. Once they landed, Phantom punched the dream eater's shadowy face.

"What the heck did you show them?" a furious ghost boy questioned as he grabbed the fiend from the front of his cloak, shaking him with his two gloved hands.

Instead of cowering with fear like he should be, Remy showed another one of his cold and triumphant smiles. Even though it wasn't really there, Danny could practically hear his enemy's cackle.

More infuriated than before, Phantom created a beam in his left hand and released it towards Remy's torso. The dream eater remained on the floor but his smirk never faltered, which sent even more chills to the hero's spine. The ghost boy clenched his teeth, frustrated by Remy's cocky attitude.

_He can't talk. How the heck am I supposed to find out what he did to my dad and what he showed to my parents in their dreams?_

_I shouldn't keep wasting my time with him. I should just trap him in the Fenton Thermos and get this over with…_

Not taking his gaze off the smirking fiend, Phantom tried to grab the container he usually had along. Unfortunately, he realized he wasn't carrying it with him.

_Crud… I left it downstairs!_

During the boy's brief distraction, Remy began to charge a red ball of energy and fired it at his opponent. But, before the attack could reach Danny, someone intervened and held the fireball in his hands. It was the Guardian of Dreams, who was now floating between the two ghosts and facing Remy. The newcomer absorbed the energy of the orb through his palms, making it disappear completely.

"Didn't I tell you not to meddle in someone else's job?" Morpheus asked Phantom over his cloaked shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the now serious dream eater.

The boy stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? He was after me! He messed with my parents' dreams and he threatened me through a friend's nightmare!" Danny exclaimed, raising his hands in exasperation.

"I said I would take care of this, didn't I? What Remy did can be reversed. The only reason why I allowed him to act was because I needed to find him first," Morpheus explained.

Danny saw the clench of Rem's fists. The now angry and frustrated foe gritted his teeth and prepared to flee the scene. An invisible force suddenly stopped him and threw him to the floor. "No, Remy," Morpheus exclaimed as he advanced towards the one he was supposed to take into custody. "You have done enough damage. It's time for you to return," the guardian simply stated as he telekinetically raised Remy from his current spot.

The dream eater silently winced in pain. He struggled to get free but failed with every attempt. His ruby eyes were closed, making it harder for Danny to see his face. Morpheus held his hands in front of Remy with his palms facing the paralyzed ghost.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked, confusion clear in his voice. However, Morpheus didn't answer.

The Guardian of Dreams remained silent for a few seconds. Instants later, the ghost boy realized what was happening: he was fading Remy from existence.

The white-haired hero knew that his enemy would be screaming in pain if he only had a voice. He imagined his desperate shrieks the same way he had imagined the sound of his vicious laughter.

The shadow-like body of the dream eater slowly began to evaporate, turning each fiber of his being into smoke. Morpheus absorbed the smog through his palms, just like he previously did with the orb of ectoplasmic energy.

Phantom stared in awe as his despised enemy slowly faded away. Soon, his face and his hands were nowhere to be seen, as if they had just _vanished_. Even though the rest of his body wasn't visible, the awestruck boy figured it was gone as well. The only thing that remained from his opponent was the now empty cloak. It floated a couple of feet above the ground for a few seconds just before it fell to the floor.

"What did you do to him?" Phantom asked once again, still not willing to accept as of yet that his enemy was finally gone.

Morpheus turned to face the astonished boy and gave him a reassuring smile. "I took away his power and, therefore, his essence. He was erased from existence," the guardian explained.

"He's… gone? He won't be able to return?"

The older ghost shook his head. "It's over."

_Over? Seriously? But… it was just… too easy. Morpheus said that Remy was strong enough to avoid his attacks. Even if I tried to beat the crap out of him, he didn't look weaker to me. So, how was Morph able to _erase_ him so easily? Remy's smile __had faltered when he saw him. Something here isn't-_

"Hold it right there!" a female voice cut Phantom from his musings. It was his mother, who had finally reached the roof. The ghost boy turned around and saw the Fenton Ghost Weasel in her hands.

_Great… another wonderful invention from my parents._

"Mom… wait," a tired voice called behind her as Danny Fenton dizzily managed to walk the rest of the stairs that led to the top of the Manson manor. The black-haired teenager fell to his knees as soon as he reached his mother.

"Danny, what are you doing up here? I told you to stay with the others," Maddie lectured him, though her tone was more worried than angry. She kneeled beside her son, but didn't stop pointing her weapon at Phantom.

"Don't hurt him," the Fenton kid said weakly. "He saved us."

The huntress frowned as she turned to face the boy by her side. "No, sweetie. That's what he's trying to make you believe. He was using you to spy on us. He's been feeding you nothing but lies," the woman explained.

Phantom cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You think I've been using him? Is that why you didn't want anyone to go to the lab?" the ghost asked, mentally kicking himself as soon as he realized that he practically admitted said accusations.

Maddie stood up and walked menacingly towards the two specters with the Ghost Weasel. "So you finally confess?" she questioned angrily.

But before she could move another inch closer to Phantom, Maddie froze where she was. A numbing feeling took over her body and she realized she was unable to move. "What are you doing to me, you filthy fiend?" she exclaimed, demanding an answer from the ghost boy.

"He's not doing anything. I am," Morpheus spoke, floating in front of Danny once again. "You should consider getting some rest, Mrs. Fenton," the soothing voice of the dream guardian suggested, somehow making her feel tired and sleepy.

Maddie yawned as she began to lose consciousness, taking one last look at Danny Phantom before she drifted into sleep.

"What did you do to her?" Fenton asked softly, struggling to focus the energy he had left to stay awake. "Where's Remy?"

Phantom moved towards his human half and helped him to his feet. "Remy's gone. For good," he replied. "Right?" he addressed the last part to Morpheus.

"And your mother will be fine," the Guardian of Dreams said shortly. Raising his darkened hands, the one who defeated Rem summoned a curtain of smoke, which engulfed the two halves of the same boy.

Both Dannys coughed as they closed their eyes, overwhelmed by Morph's most recent display of abilities. Once they felt the thick fog dissipate, they adjusted their gaze to absorb their surroundings. It was then that they realized they were in their parents' lab.

"Whoa. Why did you bring us here?" Fenton asked once he felt that the room had stopped moving.

Morpheus didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes as a red glow began to surround his body. The radiance was so bright that the two teens had to squint their eyes to at least see their savior's silhouette. Finally, the brilliance of the light slowly turned into a darker shade of crimson. After a few seconds, the dream guardian returned to normal. He reopened his ruby gaze and stared at the two dumbfounded boys.

"What the heck was that?" Phantom asked as he and Fenton rubbed their eyes. Once they regained focus, they noticed a serious look on the Sandman's dark face.

The older ghost remained silent, apparently not willing to cooperate. Just like he did mere instants before, he ignored the question. His attention was focused elsewhere. He turned around and it seemed as if he were looking for something, which caused the young duo to raise their eyebrows, though one of them immediately changed his expression into one of anger.

"Hey! I asked you something!" Danny's ghost half demanded, clearly irritated for being disregarded. A ball of ectoplasmic energy began to form in his right hand and he threw it at the distracted guardian.

The emerald orb advanced at great speed towards its target, but it suddenly came to a halt mere inches from Morph's back. The dismissive ghost held out his hand and, without turning around, made a gesture that slowly sent the attack back to Phantom. The green ball didn't hit the boy; instead, it carefully went through his chest and vanished. The two teenagers observed in awe.

"What did he-" Fenton began to ask softly, but was abruptly interrupted by another voice.

"Don't waste you energy, my boy. You still need to recover," the dream guardian advised to the human. "And you should really do something about that temper," he then spoke to the ghost kid as he reached what he was originally looking for: The Fenton Ghost Catcher.

The awestruck boys barely registered Morpheus comment and turned their attention to the device in his hands. "Enough games," Phantom declared. "What are you trying to do?"

"Fuse back," the Guardian simply ordered.

"What?" both teens confusedly asked in unison.

"Just do as I requested, otherwise I won't be able to fix this," the older ghost replied.

His tone lacked of malice and, so far, he seemed to be trying to help. Fenton and Phantom noticed this but they also knew something was off about… well, about everything that happened in the last few minutes: Morpheus' opportune intervention, the way Remy was so easily defeated, the bright glow that engulfed the room, and even the authoritarian attitude the Guardian of Dreams was now displaying.

As if reading each other's thoughts, the two Dannys shared a look. They hesitated for a moment but immediately realized they didn't have much choice. Morpheus was clearly more powerful than they had realized before.

The ghost boy held his human half's hand to fly together through the Ghost Catcher, using the side designed to merge. Within seconds, they became one again.

Danny, now in his human mode, fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Ow! I have to remember to put a cushion on the floor or something whenever I use this thing," he muttered to himself as he stood up, instantly turning his narrowed gaze towards Morpheus and changing into his ghostly alter ego. "All right, I know something's up. What's going on?" he questioned.

"I admit you were quite helpful in the defeating of Remy, if that's what you wanted to hear," the Guardian replied rather tiredly.

"Well, yeah. Thanks. But that's not what I asked," Danny impatiently insisted. "You left me to fight alone. Again! And then you suddenly appear and just… _erased_ him. Not that I'm not grateful about it, but if you were able to do that since the beginning, why did I have to go through all those fights? It doesn't make any sense. You could've done that to Remy during our first battle, before all the dream madness started. You ARE the Guardian of Dreams. You're more powerful than Rem. But you still allowed all of this to happen! Why?" the boy exclaimed heatedly, not even bothering to lower his tone to avoid being heard by anyone outside of the lab.

Morpheus fixed his burgundy gaze on the young hybrid. "Totally valid questions, but the only answer I can give you and the only thing you need to know is that everything is the way it's meant to be," he cryptically answered with his calm and deep voice.

"What are you talking about?" Danny inquired, confusion clear in his tone.

The older specter gave him a sly smile. "You'll find out in due time. For now, you need to regain your energy."

Danny's eyebrows furrowed with uncertainty. "What…?" he began to ask, but was suddenly silenced by the same numbing sensation he felt when he first met Morpheus.

Unable to move or even speak, the half-ghost stared in awe as a mixture of green light and black smoke surrounded his whole being. His eyelids became heavy. The room grew darker with each passing second. The last thing that crossed his baffled mind was the inevitable idea that something wasn't right; that he had been tricked, somehow. However, his thoughts were lost in the dark abyss of his overwhelmed head as he lost consciousness.

* * *

**Notes:**

I didn't change this chapter plot-wise but I did edit the writing. And the ending is more ambiguous than before, right?

Special thanks to _Silent Elegy_ and _BlackShadow875_ for pointing out several details that helped me improve this chapter (or at least that's what I'm hoping).

Now, to the conclusion!

**Coming Next:**

_Chapter 17: Waking Up _– in which the story ends.


	17. Waking Up

**Notes:**

Sorry for the long wait. School has been a real pain in the bottom right now. Thank God (or whatever higher power up there) it's over in eight days.

Well, this is it. This is where the story concludes.

Thank you very much for reviewing the previous chapter. I know it wasn't that good, so I posted a slightly edited version instead. Plot-wise, it's the same; but the writing had to be adjusted (especially at the end, which is also a bit more ambiguous than before).

Oh! And thanks to _Fey Phantom_ for the beautiful drawing she did from Chapter 12 (where Fenton and Phantom are _crying like idiots_, hehe). To check it out, copy and paste the following address, minus the spaces:

http / www . deviantart . com / deviation / 34872772 /

Anyway, I've got a lot of people to thank and other things to say at the bottom notes, so I'll move on to the story now.

* * *

**Chapter 17: ****Waking Up**

A sharp gasp broke the silence that resided in the dark bedroom. The boy responsible for such disruption had been sleeping serenely, but he suddenly woke up and sat bolt upright on his bed. As soon as he took in his surroundings and realized where he was, he froze on his spot with a puzzled expression.

_Wait a minute… my bed? My room? How the heck did I end up here?_

Danny's mind was muddled as thousands of questions plagued his head. He could barely even remember what had happened before he fell unconscious.

He rubbed his eyes and glanced at his clock. It read 4:17 a.m. With an annoyed and tired groan, he let his body rest on his mattress again.

_If it's still Saturday, it's a crime to be awake this early._

All of the sudden, his memory unscrambled whatever happened a few hours ago and it all came back to him. Actually, he recalled the events from two different points of view, even though his human half was inactive during most of the fight.

Several images, including those of his parents, Remy, the Guardian of Dreams, Jazz, and his friends, filled the gaps in his brain. His main questions now were '_where's Morpheus?', 'what did he do?',_ and '_what the heck happened to the others?'_

Quietly, Danny transformed into his ghostly alter ego. Once the rings of light changed his appearance, the boy turned invisible and intangible before he phased through the walls to scan the other rooms.

He reached his sister's four-walled space first. The phantom was fortunately able to see the outlines of Jazz's belongings thanks to the FentonWorks' sign outside, which diminished the darkness with its neon light. One of the silhouettes Danny could discern was the dormant body of his sibling. Perplexed, he floated next to her to confirm it was the same redheaded girl he grew up with.

_But… how did Jazz get here? She didn't take her car to Sam's house. If she came home with mom and dad, why didn't they wake me up?_

New enigmas troubled his teenage mind. However, he didn't have the heart to waken his sister so he could get the answers he needed. She seemed to be peacefully sleeping.

As silent as he entered, he moved to the next dormitory. Several things startled him once he made it to his parents' bedroom: one, the Fenton Ghost Shield was off; two, his mom and dad were there, lost in a deep slumber; and three, even though his father was snoring as loud as ever, the woman next to him wasn't wearing her Fenton Earplugs to help her rest through the noisy snorts.

Although these observations fazed him, Danny knew they were fine. After a few seconds of making sure nothing else was off, the boy phased through the wall and returned to his bedroom. He sat on his mattress and changed back to his human form, the blank stare on his face never receding.

_Everyone seems to be safe and sound. I don't get it. Did Morpheus transport them or something? And why did he say that everything is the way it's meant to be? He was clearly acting weirder than usual._

_Oh, no… what if I dreamed all of it?_

The boy panicked and his eyes shifted towards the clothes he was wearing. Due to his bewildered state, he hadn't paid attention before to his current outfit, which consisted on a white T-shirt with red accents, blue jeans, and red shoes… the same thing he had been sporting the night before, with the same ink stain at the bottom of his shirt and the same hole in the left pocket of his pants.

Relieved, Danny released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. _Okay, it was real. At least I didn't hallucinate again. Still… I have _no_ idea of what was going on with Morph. I guess I'll just have to wait till the others wake up to discuss this._

_So… what am I going to do while I wait if I'm not really sleepy?_

* * *

"Danny, are you in there?" the hushed and frantic voice of Jasmine Fenton called from outside her brother's bedroom at 8 in the morning. The sound of her words was accompanied as well by a soft knock on the door. Even if the girl had heard some noise from the room, she didn't want to be loud enough to waken her parents.

Two seconds later, she could hear footsteps near the other side of the door. The knob was turned and a wide-awake Danny appeared at the entrance. The boy grinned once he saw his sister and allowed her into the room. "Hey, Jazz," he greeted, closing the door behind them. "I was beginning to worry. You usually wake up earlier than this," he joked.

Jazz didn't laugh sarcastically or roll her eyes, like she normally would. Instead, she frowned with concern. "Actually, that _is_ odd," she replied. "I don't even know how I got to my room. I vaguely remember the fight and how you woke up afterwards and followed mom to the roof. Then there was a red flash and…" she trailed off, unsure of her words. "I think I fainted or something."

Danny's eyebrow had kicked up once she mentioned the light. "Did you say… red flash?" he inquired intrigued.

His sister nodded. "Yeah. Why? Do you think Remy has something to do with that? What happened anyway?" the girl now questioned.

"Rem was defeated," he answered simply. "Morpheus showed up before I had a chance to look for a thermos and trap the dream eater."

"Oh, yeah, you left yours with us," Jazz interrupted.

"I figured. Anyway, Morph kinda… _erased_ Remy. He then put some sort of spell on mom once she made it to the roof and she fell asleep. After that, he took my two halves to the lab and told us to go through the Ghost Catcher. It's all a blur from there, but I guess he's the one who brought me to my room," Danny explained.

An awkward silence grew between the two siblings. "So…" Jazz began after a while. "You think Remy's really gone? And that Morpheus brought us here? Have you even checked on Sam and Tucker yet?" she asked, sensing something strange as well.

Danny chuckled lightly. "Trust me. I had around _four_ hours to think about it. Actually, I can't believe I'm almost… tireless. I think Morpheus restored my energy or something," he confided, at which Jazz stared questioningly. The boy sighed when he noticed the look on her face and continued explaining as he paced around the room. "I woke up four hours ago. I went to check on you and our parents. When I saw that you were all right, I decided to fly to find out what happened to my friends. They were in their respective homes and sleeping peacefully. I tried following your example and headed back to bed, but I was restless. It was like I had all this energy inside me… I even had a run-in with Skulker and played videogames before you knocked on my door," the boy narrated.

Jazz studied him carefully and noticed a slightly healthier tone on his skin. His eyes lacked of the bags underneath them that usually gave away his worn out condition. He seemed fresh and rather spirited, ironic considering his nature.

"There's something that has been bothering me, though," Danny continued, snapping his sibling out of her musings. "But I wanted to talk to you and the others about it once you were awake."

"Well, why don't you and I talk about it now?" the girl offered.

The youngest Fenton considered this for a second before giving in. "All right," he replied. "It's something Morpheus said before making me go unconscious. He said that things are just the way they're supposed to be. I've been giving it a lot of thought, but I still can't figure out if that's something to worry about or not."

Once again, Jazz raised an eyebrow. "He said that?" she asked and Danny nodded. "I can stay alert for any changes in your character, if that's what you're afraid of. Though, if Morpheus was so helpful at the end and he gave you back your energy, maybe it's nothing to worry about," she comforted. "You have to be careful, though. Try to stay attentive to your surroundings, specially if you're fighting."

"Yeah, I suppose…" the young hero exclaimed, still not fully convinced.

Before any of them could say another word, loud steps could be heard through the hall and nearing to Danny's door. When they were outside of his room, the door was suddenly slammed open with a bang, revealing a gun-wielding Jack Fenton at the entrance.

"Danny! Where's the ghost!" the large man in the orange jumpsuit yelled, pointing his ecto-foamer to several parts of the bedroom.

Cringing, both Jazz and Danny turned to face him. "Ghost?" the nervous black-haired teenager asked. "What ghost?"

"Jack," another voice came from the hall. A second later, Maddie Fenton calmly –and tiredly- appeared next to her husband. "I already told you: there's no ghost trying to haunt Danny. You dreamed all of it," she exclaimed with an annoyed tone, as if she had already told him more than once.

Dejectedly, the Fenton patriarch lowered his weapon. "Aww, Maddie… I thought you agreed with me," he complained.

The two kids just shared a confused look before returning their attention to their parents. "Uh, mom… dad… what's going on?" Danny questioned.

Both adults turned to face their son. Maddie smiled and walked towards him. "Nothing, sweetie. Your father just thinks some cloaked ghost is haunting you," she explained as she ruffled his hair. "He was just dreaming. He assumes that just because I had a nightmare in which I was chasing the ghost boy to protect you, I agree with him."

Jack then turned around and began to leave the room. "Stupid ghost dreams," he muttered before was out of sight. Maddie sighed and smiled before following her spouse, leaving two awestruck teenagers behind.

"But… they were there," Jazz began.

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

"I heard mom say something about how the ghost boy was controlling you, last night," she added, still perplexed.

"I know…"

"And they saw us at Sam's house."

"I know."

"So… Morpheus made them forget?" the girl wondered out loud.

Danny shook his head and turned to face his sister. "I think so. I mean… I thought for sure they would be barging in here to question us about it. I even had my excuses planned," he confessed. A smile then appeared on his face as realization hit him. "If they think it was all a dream, then we're probably not banned from the lab anymore," he enthusiastically exclaimed.

"You were banned from the lab?" Jazz asked.

"Long story short: apparently, mom and dad thought _Phantom_ was using me to spy on them or something… so they restricted _us_ –including you- from going to the lab," Danny answered.

"So…" Jazz once again began. "That means things are back to normal. They're just the way they're supposed to be, huh?"

_Well… my family and friends seem to be fine, Remy's gone, my parents don't suspect there's any relationship between my two halves, and I seem to have regained my energy…_

"You know what?" the boy exclaimed with a smile. "I think you're right."

* * *

Night and day were practically two unnecessary concepts in most parts of the Ghost Zone. Past, present, and future seemed just as pointless to some of its inhabitants, specially if they didn't have anything to look back or forward to.

There is, however, one area in which those three terms mean everything and nothing at all. A lair in which said triad moves back and forth, but every small change can alter its whole harmony.

Only one figure understood the thin line between construction and destruction. The owner of the aforementioned lair, after all, controlled time at will. He knew all the routes and possible outcomes of _any_ situation.

He _knows_ everything.

That's how he was aware of who was visiting his domain even before the newcomer made its entrance, which is why he wasn't surprised when one of his closest _friends_ –if one was to apply such terms- appeared with a curtain of smoke in his castle.

"Morpheus," the old-looking Master of Time greeted with a smile as he wound up the clock on his staff, not really facing the other entity in the room. "Just in time."

The Guardian of Dreams advanced towards Clockwork as soon as the smog cleared. "The boy is safe, sound, and fully charged, like you requested," he said. "There's still something I can't grasp completely: if you wanted Remy eliminated, you should've let me done that from the beginning. Why did you want me to intervene the way I did? Twice, to be accurate."

Clockwork's face changed into a serious one, as his form switched to look like a child. He turned his attention to his visitor and motioned him to look at one of the screens that showed a different timeline.

_Danny Phantom could be seen battling Remy at a building under construction. Both ghosts traded blows but the young hybrid soon gained the upper hand and trapped the dream eater inside a Fenton thermos._

_'That will show him not to mess with a hero in a hurry,' the proud boy exclaimed while closing the lid of the cylindrical container. He then flew away, towards his home._

The dream guardian stared in awe at the scene. "I don't understand. You knew he could have actually won the first time, yet you asked me to do my job and _try_ to take Remy under custody _without_ vanishing him?" Morpheus inquired.

"Yes, but it was necessary. Otherwise, it would've been worse for Danny in the near future," Clockwork replied. Pressing a button below the screen, the image changed to FentonWorks.

_'What were you thinking?' an enraged Maddie questioned her son. 'There are dangerous ghosts out there at this late hours!'_

_Danny Fenton's expression showed a mixture of guilt and annoyance as both of his parents lectured him in the living room._

_'I expected a better judgment from you, son,' Jack exclaimed next._

_'You're grounded until further notice, young man,' Danny's mom added. 'Go to your room and go to bed immediately. From now on, you will only leave this house to attend school, am I clear?'_

_'Yes, mom,' the boy muttered before heading to his bedroom, irritation clear in his tone and look._

_Once he was in his room, he slammed the door shut and shot a ray from his finger against one of his pillows, which exploded instantly._

_As his pillow's feathers covered his bed and part of the ground, Danny groaned exasperated. 'Stupid ghost powers!' he muttered. 'If I hadn't been trying to save this town _again, _then I wouldn't be late or injured. Heck, I wouldn't be exhausted all the time! And how does everyone repay what I do to save this rotten city? By declaring me Public Enemy No. 1 and blasting me whenever they have a chance! And now, I'm grounded! Again! I hate this!' he ranted as he shot another pillow with a beam._

_At that point, Maddie knocked the door. 'Daniel Fenton! What's all that noise? Open this door right now!'_

_'I'm fine! Just… leave me alone!' he yelled back at his mother._

The scene stopped and Clockwork turned to meet Morpheus' curious glance. "In the end, he would have blamed his ghost half for every one of his problems, most of them not even ghost-related. If this wasn't attended immediately, he would have renounced to his duty as the protector of the human realm," he explained as he changed once more, now into an adult. "Daniel has always preferred to learn the hard way. That's why I needed him to go through this test."

"Yes, I noticed that rift between his two halves, but I didn't know the consequences would be as dire as you imply," Morpheus spoke, contemplating the possible scenario proposed by the other ghost.

"They won't be," the Master of Time replied. "At least not anymore. Now that he has embraced his ghostly nature and that Remy's gone for good, things will look brighter in his future."

The shadowlike visitor shook his head softly as if in disbelief. "I still have a job to do, but you'll have to explain this to me in another occasion," the Sandman said as he began to conjure up a curtain of smoke. He paused for a second and then turned to his _friend_. "You probably know what's best for him since he's your responsibility, but try not to be too hard on him. He's a good kid." The smoke resumed its movement as it surrounded the dream guardian. "We'll meet again, Clockwork. Preferably when it doesn't involve testing your protégé," Morpheus exclaimed as he parted with the smog he summoned.

The Master of Time smiled once more as he transformed into an old man once again, his features gaining a wise feel to them.

Yes. Clockwork knew. But then, he knows everything.

* * *

"Gotcha!" a girl wearing black pants, a purple top, and a gray bandana, yelled as she threw another sponge filled with green paint at one of her friends.

The trio had agreed to play a lighter version of paintball in the park that sunny Saturday afternoon. After last night's events, they tried to find a way to relax and simply have some fun. Of course, not everyone enjoyed the game…

"No fair, Sam!" Tucker exclaimed as he noticed his now colored sweatshirt. "I've been your only target!" He turned to throw a red sponge at the Goth girl but was surprised by a sneak attack behind him.

'Splat!'

Two laughing voices filled the park as the tech geek tried to find the one responsible for the blue mark on his neck. He turned around to find a hysterical Danny becoming visible. "Seriously, Tuck," the half-ghost exclaimed between chuckles. "You're a bigger klutz than me when it comes to this game!"

With a light giggle, Sam joined the Fenton boy as Tucker scowled. "Yeah, but only because _you_ have ghost powers," the girl conceded.

"Finally! Someone who agrees. Thank you," the dark-skinned boy said as he grabbed another sponge and tried to hit Danny, who just turned intangible once more. "Why can't you just play like a normal kid?" Tucker complained once more.

"Sorry. I would need to actually _be_ a normal kid to do that," Danny replied with a triumphant grin.

"In that case, you give us no other choice," Sam exclaimed with a mischievous smile.

The ghost boy never liked that grin. He knew that his friend only used it whenever she was sure she had the upper hand. The girl turned her lilac gaze towards Tucker, who smirked just as slyly.

"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do? Take me down molecule by molecule?" Danny challenged.

"No," Tucker began. "But almost," he said as he pulled out a Fenton Booo-merang from behind his back. Sam did the same.

Danny's eyes widened in shock as he saw his two friends attaching wet sponges to the flying devices. "You never said anything about using my parents' gadgets," he exclaimed nervously.

"Now would be a good time to run, _Phantom_," Sam mocked as she prepared to throw her (almost) harmless weapon.

The boy transformed into his ghostly alter ego, once he made sure no one was watching, and fled the scene as fast as ghostly possible. The two locked devices followed him soon after.

_Well, at least we are really enjoying our first real weekend of fun since I became a ghost, but now without putting aside my responsibility as Amity Park's protector._

_I mean… there are no more worries, no more identity crisis, no more misunderstandings with my parents, no recent run-ins with Valerie or any ghost… I'm still alert for any attack, but I'm trying to relax in the meantime._

_It's not perfect, but it's good enough for me._

_I'm really, really, really thankful for all this weirdness. Living a perfect life or even a "normal" one is definitely not for me. _

_Been there, done that. Back to the real world._

This_ is part of my reality. Being there for everyone, having to deal with spooks on a daily basis, or even playing with my friends using my powers is part of what now makes me… well, me._

_And it's nice to know we can still have fun even if I'm a half-dead teenager._

While Danny continued his musings, Sam's Booo-merang closed in on the white-haired boy as he flew higher into the sky.

_Oh, who am I kidding? Losing in this game even with my ghost powers totally reeks._

'Splat.'

**THE END**

* * *

**Notes:**

I'm just mildly satisfied with how this was written, but at least it's finally here.

Yeah… That's all! It's done!

Wow. it was almost six months ago when this started. I never thought it would take so long to get to this point.

If there's something you want me to clarify, let me know so I can fix it.

I want to thank those who took at least a minute of their time to read this story and reviewed, faved, or alerted while at it.

* * *

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

Aisu no Doragon, AkaiKurai, Almaseti, AnimeWriter, Benny, BlackShadow875, blindyourears (_thanks for the C2)_, BlueMyst19, briedee, CalicoKitty13, casade, Catmedium, Catnip070, Celestial Moonshine, centaurgurl08, Crossover Fiend, Danaphantom, danny0709, DanPhantom, Dariana Night, darkmoonwriter13, Darth Frodo, deadly-anger, Deleila, deranged black kitten of doom, deserriwisher, Digimon ruler.9, dramaqueen07, DSK, ducky76, EHHimel, Elven Angel10, epobbp, Fey Phantom, fox eye, GhostAnn (_thanks for the C2)_, Halfa-NariMaruko, I Brake For Ghosts, iGoGhost, I-I-It's c-c-coold heere…, IlovTrunks16, InuPhantom, Jalison, JTN, Just call me Crazy, Kamoto, Karen Rosalie, katiesparks, Kayo, Kitty Kyinsky, Kkwy, Lady Two-Bit, L'ange-Sans-Ailes, Lateraina Wolf Leppers, littlekittykat, MattsLittleSister, Me, Miss Selarne, Missmeliss4251, Mistress of Darkness, MmFlamerosemM, Mr. Snuffles, mutantsquirrel4, Netbug009, Nix Noctua, Nobody-Important91, Ohka Breynekai, Outdated Reviewer, Petitio Principii, Phantom Of A Thorn, PhantomBoy827andMasterofProcrastination, phantomdog, Possesed Angel (_thanks for the C2)_, purpledog100, Queen S of Randomness 016, RainbowSerenity, Risika135, rockpaperscissor, RonninBlade, Ryo Hoshi, Ryo's destiny, sarah-sama, Satoshi Silver Syoran, Serena the Hikari of Love, Shadow Guardian of the Gate, Shimegami-chan, Silent Elegy, silvermoonphantom (_thanks for the C2)_, silverstagbeauty, Sleep Warrior, SliceyDiceyOnTheIcey, Snickerer, Sparky the Wonder Weasel, Spidergirl, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, Static-elf-of-insanity, TailsFreak2, The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, The Person Who Rights, The Sleep Warrior, timydamonkey, Truth91920, ttaf1991, TuffaChica, venusgal100, whirlgirl, WolfDaughter, X-wingPilot52, XxLight ShadowxX, -XxX Hero's Crest XxX-, yoyo-illuser, Ytak, yugihfan2002, Yumi Hallo, Zagonarth, ZAGRH8R, Zeldyrox, and Zuzanny.

(Please let me know if I forgot to mention anyone)

* * *

Well, I still have other stories in progress and two upcoming one-shots, so I'm off to work on that. Thank you for your support, your patience, and your time. I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing all of it.

Take care and I hope to see you around.


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